Cakes & Bakes: Fruity Easter loaf cake

Last week, we tried some of teapigs hot cross bun tea and thought it would be marvellous as an ingredient in a fruity Easter loaf cake.

We incorporated the spice flavours into the cake by soaking the dried fruit in the brewed tea – overnight is best, but do it for a couple of hours at least.

The batter is a little on the wet side, so the fruit may end up mostly in the bottom two thirds of the loaf. You can reserve a little of the soaked fruit before adding the egg and other ingredients and scatter them on the top at the end – just before you sprinkle over the granulated sugar.

Our hunch was right, the hot cross bun tea flavour really works well in a tea cake loaf. It’s a lovely moist cake and the sprinkle of granulated sugar over the top gives a nice crunch. Serve plain, or with a spread of butter and – of course – a cup of tea.

Click here to save our fruity Easter loaf cake recipe to Pinterest

Fruity Easter loaf cake

2020-03-25 18:22:00

Serves 8

Ingredients

175g/6oz mixed dried fruit (currants, sultanas, raisins etc. Chopped, dried apple rings would be lovely)
175ml/6 fl oz teapigs hot cross bun tea (brewed for 3-4 mins)
1 egg
100g/3½oz brown soft sugar
140g/5oz self raising flour
2 tbsp granulated sugar

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Instructions

Brew a large, strong mug of tea using one of the teapigs hot cross bun tea 'temples'
Put the mixed dried fruit into a medium mixing bowl
Pour the tea into the mixing bowl (it should just cover all the fruit)
Cover the mixing bowl with reusable food cover and leave to soak for a few hours, ideally overnight, to allow the tea to plump up the fruit
Preheat the oven to 170ºC/375ºF/Gas mark 4
Grease & line a 450g/1lb loaf tin
In a small measuring jug, lightly beat the egg before adding it to the mixed fruit and any un-soaked liquid
Add the sugar and flour and combine well
Pour into the loaf tin and sprinkle over the granulated sugar
Bake for 40-50 minutes or until an skewer inserted into the centre comes away clean
Leave the cake in its tin to cool completely before turning out
Slice and serve buttered

Notes

The loaf should keep for a couple of weeks if wrapped in baking parchment and kept in a cool, airtight container

H is for Home Harbinger http://hisforhomeblog.com/

Cakes & Bakes: Bara brith

We spent a fantastic few days in Wales last month and are hoping to return there very soon. We did plan on trying a few traditional Welsh dishes, but never got around to it.

To make amends, I found a recipe for bara brith on the Visit Wales website and gave it a try today. Bara Brith is a spiced loaf cake chock-full of tea-soaked, mixed fruit and glazed on the top with a few drizzles of honey.

I’m going to finish this post tomorrow once I’ve actually tasted it. The directions recommend that the loaf is given a day or two to ‘rest’ before consuming.

Update: We each had a couple of slices with our midday cups of tea. It’s a positive thumbs up from the both of us!

Get the recipe here!

Bara brith

Visit Wales

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Cook Time 1

Course Snack

Cuisine Welsh

Servings 6

Ingredients

400 g/14oz mixed fruit e.g. sultanas, raisins, currants
300 ml/10½fl oz strong, hot tea
250 g/9oz self-raising flour
1 tsp mixed spice
100 g/3½oz Muscovado sugar
1 egg beaten
honey to glaze

Instructions

Put the dried fruit in a mixing bowl and pour over the tea
Mix in the sugar and stir well to dissolve
Leave to soak for at least 6 hours or, preferably, overnight
On the following day, sift the flour and mixed spice into the soaked fruit (no need to drain the tea) and stir in the egg. Combine well
Preheat the oven to 180°C /350ºF/Gas mark 4
Line a 900g/2lb loaf tin with parchment paper or pre-made loaf tin liner
Pour in the mixture and bake for about an hour until the loaf has risen and is cooked through
Drizzle a little honey over the top of the still warm cake
Allow to cool on a wire rack
Slice and smear with butter before devouring!

If you can resist the temptation, bara brith is at its best a couple of days after baking and keeps for up to a week

Keyword fruit bread, fruitcake, loaf cake, tea loaf

Cakes & Bakes: Prune tea loaf

We’ve been having a busy first few days of 2018. I’ve been a bit tardy again this year with preparing & filing our tax returns so I wanted this week’s Cakes & Bakes to be quick and simple. This prune tea loaf is just the ticket!

Armagnac is the perfect pairing for prunes. However, if you prefer, you can swap this out for an equal quantity of freshly-brewed, strong black tea.

Serve warm, cut into thick slices, buttered generously accompanied by a cup of tea. After my little break, it’s back to doing the accounts!

Click here to save my recipe to Pinterest for a later date!

Prune tea loaf

2018-01-03 17:45:39

Serves 8

Cook Time

45 min

Cook Time

45 min

Ingredients

200g/7oz prunes (Agen ones are best)
2-4 tbsp Armagnac
2 eggs
100g/3½oz brown soft sugar
250g/9oz self raising flour
75ml/2⅔fl oz milk

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If you don’t have Buy Me a Pie! app installed you’ll see the list with ingredients right after downloading it

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 170ºC/325ºF/Gas mark 3
Grease & line a 900g/2lb loaf tin
De-stone and roughly chop the prunes and put them into a medium-sized mixing bowl
Pour the Armagnac over the prunes - it should just about cover all the fruit
Cover with a reusable food cover for about half an hour to allow the fruit to absorb the liquid
In a measuring jug, lightly beat the eggs before adding them to the soaked prunes and any un-absorbed liquid
Add the sugar and flour and combine well
Mix in the milk to loosen the batter
Spoon evenly into the lined loaf tin and sprinkle a little granulated sugar evenly over the top
Bake for 45 minutes or until an inserted skewer comes away clean
Leave the loaf in its tin to cool for 5 minutes before turning it out on to a wire rack

Notes

The loaf will keep for a couple of weeks (if it lasts that long!) if wrapped in baking parchment and kept in an airtight container in a cool place

H is for Home Harbinger http://hisforhomeblog.com/

Cakes & Bakes: Yorkshire tea loaf

This week’s Cakes & Bakes features a traditional Yorkshire tea loaf – packed with fruit. We often sit down for a break at about four in the afternoon – and absolutely love this kind of thing as an accompaniment to our brew. Sweet, sticky and full of good things to give you a mid-afternoon energy boost.

There’s a very simple list of ingredients.

It’s vital that you soak the dried fruit in tea overnight – it makes a big difference to the end result, so don’t be tempted to skip this stage!

It’s everything in one bowl method.

Preparation is easy, so you can’t go wrong!

The loaf keeps well for up to 2 weeks, but it probably won’t hang around that long though.

It’s delicious served on its own or with a thin scrape of butter (thick scrape in Justin’s case).

Even just looking at it in pictures, we’re tempted to get the kettle on!!

Click here to pin the recipe for later!

Yorkshire tea loaf

Clandestine Cake Club

The perfect accompaniment to a cup of afternoon tea!

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Course Tea

Cuisine British

Ingredients

350 g mixed dried fruit currants, sultanas, raisins, mixed peel. Try adding a tbsp of crystallised ginger
350 ml strong tea brewed for 3-4 mins
2 eggs
200 g brown soft sugar
270 g self raising flour

Instructions

Brew a large, strong mug of tea (we usually use loose Yorkshire tea... of course! But any strong breakfast or afternoon tea will do!)
Put the mixed dried fruit into a medium mixing bowl
Allow the tea to brew and cool slightly before pouring it into the mixing bowl (it should just about cover all the fruit
Cover with cling film/Saran wrap for a few hours, ideally overnight, to allow the tea to plump up the fruit
In the morning, preheat the oven to 170ºC/340ºF/Gas mark 4
Grease 2 x 450g/1lb loaf tins (or 1 x 900g/2lb loaf tin)
In a measuring jug, lightly beat the eggs before adding them to the mixed fruit and any un-soaked liquid
Add the sugar and combine well
Pour evenly into the loaf tins and bake for 40-50 mins or until an inserted skewer comes away clean. If you're using a 900g tin, baking will take about 60-75 mins
Leave the loaves in their tins to cool completely before turning them out
They'll keep for a couple of weeks if wrapped in baking parchment and kept in a cool, airtight container

Keyword fruitcake, loaf cake, tea loaf