Our food shopping habits have completely changed; both since moving to rural Wales and since the Covid-19 lockdown. We’ve been driving the few miles into the nearest town to the supermarket (after popping into the hardware store) about once every week and a half to a fortnight… much less often than usual.
I had a look in the store cupboard and fridge to see what needed to be used up before it started deteriorating. I found a few limes that were rolling around the drawer of the fridge; like us, they’ve been waiting for a sunny day to go into a gin & tonic… there hasn’t been one for a while!
Seeing as there’s been only wind & rain in the forecast, I thought that I’d better put them to another use. An afternoon tea-time loaf cake always goes down well in this house, so I whipped us up a lime and coconut iced loaf cake.
It’s very strange, I can’t stand lemons, oranges or tangerines – especially the smell of the zest when they’ve been peeled. However, for some reason, I quite like limes and grapefruit.
The secret to this cake is pre-toasting the desiccated coconut before adding it to the batter. It really brings out the flavour. It’s almost like a piña colada in cake form!
Click here or on the image below to save my recipe to Pinterest
- 100g/3½oz desiccated coconut
- 150g/5oz butter, softened
- 150g/5oz caster sugar
- 2 eggs
- juice & zest of 1 lime
- 150g/5oz plain flour
- 2tsp baking powder
- pinch of salt
- 150g icing sugar
- juice & zest of 1 lime
- Line the base and sides of a 900g (2lb) loaf tin with baking parchment or pre-made loaf tin liner
- Preheat the oven to 170ºC/150ºC fan/325ºF/Gas mark 3
- Lightly toast the desiccated coconut in a heavy-bottomed frying or sauté pan, either on the hob or in the oven. Toss every couple of minutes to ensure it is toasted evenly and doesn't burn. Set aside to cool.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar
- Lightly whisk the eggs in a medium-sized measuring jug. Slowly pour the beaten eggs into the creamed mixture while stirring constantly
- Stir in the juice and zest of the lime
- Mix in the toasted desiccated coconut
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt
- Fold the flour into the batter using a spatula or large spoon
- Spoon the batter into the prepared loaf tin, using the bak for the spoon/spatula to level the top
- Bake for 50 minutes to an hour or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes away clean
- Allow to cool completely
- Sift the icing sugar into a measuring jug to remove any lumps
- Pour in the lime juice and zest and mix thoroughly. It should be a thick paste consistency - add a couple teaspoons of water/icing sugar if the mixture is too thick/thin
- Pour the glaze evenly over the top of the cake
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
- 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
- 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
- The loaf should keep for a couple of weeks if wrapped in baking parchment and kept in a cool, airtight container
Cakes & Bakes: Earl Grey yogurt cake
This is the ultimate loaf cake to have with an afternoon cuppa. My attempt at Earl Grey yogurt cake was a roaring success.
I really like Earl Grey (and Lady Grey) tea – I don’t know why I don’t drink it more often. It lends a beautiful fragrance to to the loaf. I thought that actual tea leaves in the recipe would make the cake chewy or bitty. However, so long as you remove any of the thick or stalky bits, it’s absolutely fine.
A sprinkling of Demerara or granulated sugar over the top just before it goes into the oven ensures a lovely crunchy top.
The original recipe recommends toasting slices of the cake and spreading it with butter – it didn’t last long enough for me to try that out.
I took a few slices to my weekly crafty afternoon meet-up and was duly asked for the recipe – so it was a double success!
Click here to save the recipe to Pinterest
- 220g/7¾oz vegetable oil, plus more for pan
- 250g/9oz all-purpose flour
- 1½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 2 large eggs
- 250g/9oz granulated sugar
- 245g/8½oz plain whole-milk yogurt
- 3 tbsp loose-leaf Earl Grey tea or tea from bags
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp raw or granulated sugar
- Preheat the oven to 160°C/ 325°F/ Gas mark 3
- Lightly coat a 9x5" or 8½x4½" loaf tin with vegetable oil and line with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the long sides
- Sift flour, salt, baking powder and bicarb into a medium bowl to combine
- Vigorously whisk the eggs and granulated sugar in a large bowl for 1 minute. The mixture should be pale yellow and frothy
- Whisk in the yogurt, tea leaves and vanilla extract
- Gradually stream in the vegetable oil, whisking constantly until incorporated
- Add the dry ingredients and whisk to combine
- Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Gently tap the tin against surface to eliminate any air bubbles
- Sprinkle evenly with the raw or granulated sugar
- Bake the cake until a skewer or toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean - about 1 hour
- Allow to cool for 15 minutes in the tin, then run a butter knife or offset spatula between the cake and tin to release
- Lift it out using the parchment overhang and transfer to a wire rack
- Serve warm or room temperature (or even better, toast slices and slather them with butter!)
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!
Bara brith
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