from Amy Claridge I have a marvellous bearded friend whom I fondly call The Marquis. He wears combat trousers, and plays cricket in Doc Martin boots painted white with emulsion. He inspired this cake. I was in his company once, when he suddenly said “Beavers at 4!” to his brother, Jason. It turned out that when they were schoolboys in the 50s and 60s, they would partake in tea and cake at 4 pm – as was the routine of their school. The general term for this cake – of any type – was ‘beavers’. So when I was trying to work out how to use up a load of Christmas dates and figs, I worked them into a traditional tea loaf recipe, and called it ‘beavers’. I could just imagine a young Marquis in shorts with grazed knees helping himself to a rather large slice whilst Jason salivated in the background.This recipe has been made numerous times since, and a couple of grease proof paper clad loafs, tied with twine, have made their way to the Marquis and his brother. I am assured that this cake tastes
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