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PASTRY:
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1. In a large, chilled bowl, combine the ½ pound of chilled butter and 2½ cups of the flour and rub them together with your fingers until they look like flakes of coarse meal.
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2. Do not allow the mixture to become oily. Pour 6 tablespoons of ice water over the flour all at once; then shape the dough into a ball.
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3. If the dough crumbles, add more ice water by the teaspoonful until the particles adhere. Dust the pastry lightly with flour and wrap it in wax paper. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
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4. Preheat the oven to 350°F. With a pastry brush and 1 tablespoon of soft butter, coat the bottom and sides of a round baking dish about 8 inches in diameter and 3 inches deep.
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FILLING:
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1. To make the filling, sift the 4 cups of flour, the sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, mace, cloves, salt and pepper together into a mixing bowl.
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2. Add the seedless raisins, white raisins, almonds and candied peel a cup or so at a time, tossing them constantly with a spoon until the fruit and nuts are coated with the flour.
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3. Beat the eggs until frothy, stir in the buttermilk and brandy, and pour the mixture over the flour and fruit. Stir until all the ingredients are well combined.
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4. Break off about two thirds of the chilled dough and place it on a lightly floured board. Pat it into a flat circle about 1 inch thick, and roll it out into a circle 15 to 16 inches in diameter and about ¼ inch thick.
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5. Drape the pastry over the pin and unroll it loosely over the baking dish. Gently press it into the bottom and around the sides of the dish, being careful not to stretch it. With scissors or a sharp knife, trim off the excess dough around the rim, and spoon the filling into the dish.
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6. Then roll the remaining pastry into a circle 9 to 10 inches in diameter and unroll it over the top of the dish. Cut off the excess and seal the edges of the circle securely to the dish by crimping it with your fingers or by pressing it down firmly with the tines of a fork.
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7. With a fork, prick the pastry all over the surface and, with a small knife, cut two 1 inch-long parallel slits about ½ inch apart in the center.
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8. Bake in the center of the oven for 1½ hours, then reduce the heat to 275°F and bake for another 1½ hours, or until the top is golden brown. Cool and then cover tightly with foil or plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature for at least a week before serving.
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9. In Scotland this dish is traditionally served on New Year's Eve. (It will keep for 3 or 4 weeks.)
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