Known for their irreverent, fuss-free takes on the classics, Tom and Oli from Exeter’s Exploding Bakery put the fun back into baking – always with more-thanmoreish results. This selection of goodies from their new book will be your weekend pleasure to bake – just watch your family and friends hoover them up

RECIPES TOM OXFORD AND OLIVER COYSH PHOTOGRAPHS SAM A HARRIS FOOD STYLING BECKS WILKINSON STYLING MAX ROBINSON

ABOUT EXPLODING BAKERY

Oliver Coysh (left) and Tom Oxford started the Exploding Bakery in Exeter back in 2011, fuelled by their love of cake. These recipes are from their second book, out now (see p44). If you’re not lucky enough to live in the Devon city and visit their café, you can order traybakes, letterbox brownies and more for delivery at explodingbakery.com. Their cakes are also available in London’s Fortnum & Mason, as well as cafés, delis and farmshops across the UK. See what they get up to on Instagram @explodingcafe

Far breton

Serves 4-6Prep time 10 min Cook time50 minSpecialist kit20cm round cake tin

EASY SWAPS

For an alcohol-free version, try soaking the fruit in apple juice.

• 50ml Somerset cider brandy, morello cherry brandy, calvados or lambig (see Easy Swaps)

• 50g prunes, roughly chopped

• 120g plain flour

• 80g caster sugar

• ½ tsp fine salt

• 3 medium eggs

• 400ml whole milk

• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste

• 100g salted butter

• Icing sugar to dust

1 Warm the brandy in a small pan, then pour it over the prunes in a small bowl. Leave to soak while you prepare the cake batter.

2 Heat the oven to 200°C/ 180°C fan/gas 6 and line your tin with a piece of scrunched-upthen-flattened-out-again baking paper (this lets the paper mould to the tin more easily). Sift the flour into a mixing bowl, then add the caster sugar and salt. Crack in the eggs and gently whisk to combine it all.