This cake was eaten by the poor of Dublin in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, for it was very cheap because it was made by bakers from their stale cake or bread stocks. This can be made with stale cake rather than bread if preferred, in which case omit the dried fruit. Recipe from The Pleasures of the Table: Rediscovering Theodora Fitzgibbon.
Serves 12 
60 mins + soaking time Makes 24 small squares
8 slices stale bread, crusts cut off
3 tbsp flour
1⁄2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp mixed spice
100g brown sugar
2 tbsp butter
175g currants or mixed dried fruit
1 large egg, beaten
4 tbsp milk
350g shortcrust pastry
sugar for sprinkling
22 cm (9 in) square tin
Mixing bowl
