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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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 https://hisforhomeblog.com/

Cakes & Bakes: Swedish almond cake

We’ve just about made our way through last week’s mammoth sourdough coffee chocolate cake. This week, Justin has requested another afternoon tea cake – so I’ve obliged with this Swedish almond cake… one of his favourite flavours!

I came across the loaf cake on the food blog, BakingBar. It’s a family recipe, passed down by David’s grandma.

I only made a couple of little tweaks to the original recipe; I omitted the ½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon, added a sprinkling of flaked almonds and divided the batter into two, smaller loaf tins.

As they baked, the smell of almond wafted through the house – I could barely wait for them to be taken out of the oven before I was ready to slice and devour!

Do sit tight and be patient though, allowing the loaf to cool for half an hour or so really does make all the difference. Brew yourself a lovely cup of tea, cut a couple of slices, take a set, put your feet up and tuck in!

Click here to save this recipe to Pinterest for later!

Swedish almond cake

2017-10-04 17:49:25

Serves 12

Ingredients

280g/10oz caster sugar
1 egg
160ml/5⅔ fl oz milk
1½tsp almond extract
150g/5¼oz plain flour
115g/4oz butter, melted
½tsp baking powder
30g/1oz flaked almonds

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Instructions

Preheat the oven to 175ºC/ºF/Gas mark
In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar and egg
Beat in the milk a little at a time
Beat in the almond extract
In a separate, medium-sized mixing bowl sieve together the flour and baking powder
Add the dry mixture to the wet and combine
Fold the melted butter into the batter
Pour the batter equally into two greased & lined 500g/18oz loaf tins
Sprinkle the flaked almonds over the top of both
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes away clean
Remove from the oven and allow the loaves to cool on their tins for 20 minutes
Dredge with icing sugar, cut into slices and serve

Adapted from Baking Bar

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

Cakes & Bakes: Earl Grey tea and lemon cake

Never have I baked a cake that is more perfect for tea-time! As its name suggests, this Earl Grey tea and lemon cake is infused with oil of bergamot and drizzled with a lemon icing.

You begin by steeping Earl Grey tea in hot milk. We used a lovely loose leaf tea from Fortnum & Mason however Earl Grey teabags will suffice.

The recipe I used was by ex-Bake Off contestant, Urvashi Roe and it was originally for mini loaf cakes. I don’t have any mini loaf tins (yet!), so I used a single 500g/1lb loaf tin and upped the cook time to an hour.

I know that ‘lemony’ cakes often top the charts when it comes to people’s favourites (Justin included), but personally I’m not the biggest fan of lemon flavour – however, a little drizzle of the icing I could handle! I suppose I could supplement the lemon juice and zest with a little of my home-made elderflower cordial.

Teaming this cake with a cup of Earl Grey or full-bodied Darjeeling or Assam is tea-time heaven!

Click here to pin this recipe for later!

Earl Grey tea and lemon cake

2017-06-07 17:54:25

Serves 8

For the cake

125ml/4½fl oz milk
4 tsp loose Earl Grey tea (or 4 tea bags)
115g/4oz butter, softened
225g/8oz caster sugar
2 eggs
125g/4½oz self-raising flour
125g/4½oz plain flour

For the icing

½ lemon, juice & zest
200g/7oz icing sugar

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For the cake

Place the milk in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat and immerse the Earl Grey tea in the hot milk. Cover the pan and set aside for 40 minutes to allow the tea to steep
Strain the liquid from the leaves (or squeeze the liquid out of the teabags) and set the liquid aside to cool some more
Preheat the oven to 180°C/355ºF/Gas mark 4. Grease and line a 500g/1lb loaf tin with baking parchment
Cream together the butter and sugar using an electric whisk or free standing mixer with a paddle attachment. It takes a while - about 10 minutes and you'll need to scrape down the sides of the bowl from time to time
Once the mixture is light & fluffy, add the eggs one by one and mix well. Add half the flour and half of the tea-infused milk and mix until combined. Add the rest of the flour and milk and mix until there are no traces of flour in the bowl
Pour the cake batter into the prepared loaf tin
Bake for 50-60 minutes until golden brown and a skewer inserted into the centre comes away clean
Allow to cool in its tin on a wire rack

For the icing

Mix the lemon juice, zest and icing sugar together into a smooth paste. It should be quite gloopy so it doesn't dribble too much down the sides (though a little dribble is okay)
Pour over the loaf and leave the icing to set for about 30 minutes

By Urvashi Roe

Adapted from Great British Chefs

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

Cakes & Bakes: Date and walnut loaf

This date and walnut loaf is outstanding as an afternoon tea cake. It’s like a cross between malt loaf, a Yorkshire tea loaf and sticky toffee pudding.

Justin can never get enough of teatime loaf cakes, so this was made with him in mind.

So, if you’ve got a packet of dates lurking at the back of your food cupboard (perhaps from Christmas) this is the perfect way to use them all up.

Click here to save the recipe to Pinterest for later!

Date and walnut loaf

2017-03-14 10:42:57

Yields 2

Cook Time

1 hr

Cook Time

1 hr

Ingredients

450g/1lb stoned dates
1½tsp bicarbonate of soda
280ml/½pt boiling water or black tea
60g/2oz butter, softened
300g/12oz demerara sugar
2tbsp black treacle
2 eggs, lightly beaten
450g/1lb plain flour
pinch of salt
60g/2oz chopped walnuts

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Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/Gas mark 4
Line two loaf tins with parchment paper
Mix the bicarbonate of soda into the boiling water/black tea and pour over the dates making sure they're all covered. Leave until it goes cold
Beat together the butter and sugar
Add the beaten eggs
Gradually add the flour, salt and chopped nuts
Add the dates and the liquid they were soaking in. Combine thoroughly
Divide the mixture between the two lined loaf tins
Bake in the middle of the oven for an hour. Check on them after 45 minutes to make sure that their tops aren't cooking too quickly. If they start appearing too brown, cover the tops over with tin foil for the final 15 minutes cooking time
Allow to cool on a wire rack
To eat, slice and spread with butter

Adapted from Yorkshire W. I. Recipe book

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