Ingredients

• 225g/8oz sultanas
• 90g/3½oz lard
• plus 1 tbsp extra for greasing
• 125g/4½oz light muscovado sugar
• 2 tbsp golden syrup
• 225ml/8fl oz water
• 225g/8oz wholemeal flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp ground allspice
• 4 free-range eggs
• lightly beaten
• 600g/1lb 5oz jam sugar (not to be confused with preserving sugar)
• 1 lemon
• zest and juice only
• 1kg/2lb 4oz strawberries
• whole
• hulled
• 1 tsp crushed black pepper

Directions

• For the cake
• preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
• Place the sultanas
• lard
• muscovado sugar
• golden syrup and water into a saucepan and bring to the boil
• stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and cool - ideally overnight.
• Grease and line a small loaf tin with lard. Sift the flour
• baking powder
• bicarbonate of soda and spices into a large bowl. Mix the cooled fruit mixture into the dried ingredients along with the eggs
• beating well to combine.
• Tip the cake mixture into the prepared cake tin and level the top. Place in the oven to bake for 1-1¼ hours until the top is golden-brown and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
• Cool in the tin for 30 minutes
• before turning out and cooling completely on a wire rack.
• For the black pepper strawberry jam
• place the sugar
• lemon zest and juice into a large pan and heat until the sugar has dissolved. Add the strawberries and black pepper
• bring to the boil and cook for five minutes.
• Turn off the heat and leave the jam to cool
• before skimming off any froth. Spoon into sterilised jars (about 2-3 jars
• depending on their size).
• To serve
• slice the cake and spread generously with some of the jam.