Ingredients

Step by step

1. Grate the coconut to give you 200g – it’s easiest using a food processor to do this – you can discard (or eat) any chunks that won’t grate easily. Combine 50g of the grated coconut with the light brown sugar, ½ teaspoon of mixed spice and 1 tablespoon of water to make the filling. Set aside.
2. Preheat the oven to 160°C, fan 140°C, gas 3 and lightly grease and line a 900g loaf tin (10 x 20cm base measurement). Sift the flour, baking powder, nutmeg, remaining mixed spice and the salt into a large bowl. Stir in 225g caster sugar followed by the chopped cherries, raisins, mixed peel and remaining 150g grated coconut.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter, milk, egg and almond extract, then add to the dry ingredients. Stir together until you have a very stiff dough – this will be more like a biscuit dough then a bread or cake batter. Press half the dough into the tin then add the coconut filling down the centre, leaving a 5mm space at each end. Press the remaining dough on top, covering the filling completely, and top with the whole cherries, pressing them in lightly.
4. Bake for about 1 hour 10 minutes or until the bread is deeply golden and a skewer comes out practically clean (a few dry crumbs are fine). Meanwhile, dissolve the extra caster sugar in 1 tablespoon of just-boiled water. Brush over the bread then return it to the oven for 5 minutes. Leave to cool in its tin, then turn out and slice to serve.