Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Fruity Tea Loaf


Such is the power of suggestion that after I saw a picture of this "Fruity Tea Loaf" in the UK Country Living magazine, I headed straight to the kitchen to make my own--my first sortie into Baking with Metric Weights. It was much like baking in English measurements, not really the all-new experience I anticipated.

I did love this recipe though, and will share it with you with my own tweaks, but you're going to have to use a scale, because that's what I did.

Brew up 350 ml of hot tea--I used Cream Earl Grey, but you can use anything fragrant and strong.

Pour it over 225 mg small dried fruit. I used dark raisins, golden raisins, and dried cherries. You could also chop dried apricots or apples, or use dried cranberries.

Let it sit til it's cooled and much of the liquid is absorbed. Ideally several hours.

Toss together in a medium bowl 200 g dark brown sugar and 275 g self-rising flour.

In a small bowl, beat 1 egg with a fork, then stir in 50 g orange marmalade.

Add the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients to the bowl of marinating fruit, and stir all together gently (including the tea) until just combined. Pour into an 8-inch loaf pan lined with parchment paper, and bake at 350 for about an hour, until a toothpick stuck in the loaf comes out clean.

Let it cool, and store for several days like a fruitcake, rightly wrapped.

16 comments:

erin said...

That sounds delicious! And just might be worth all those conversions :)

Rose said...

Sounds delish and welcome to the world of metrics.

Tracy said...

I love making fruit tea cakes and Earl Grey or Chai are my favourite teas to use. Sometimes I add a mashed over ripe banana too. As I am in Australia, metric is the way I always work so thanks for sharing your recipe.
Tracy

maven said...

You are being so cruel! LOL

It has been one of *those* weeks here at our house. I'll put this aside for a rainy weekend when I need a challenge. :)

Margo said...

how did you get your hands on a UK magazine?

The tea loaf is intriguing. Maybe I'll use it as fruit cake this Christmas.

Lisa said...

So, these cakes don't have shortening or oil - interesting.

Lisateresa

Lisa said...

I just looked at my (cheap)kitchen scale - never knew it had metric on it!

Lisateresa

Anna said...

Margo, I used to pick it up just at the chain bookstore--then my husband bought me a subscription. Always a happy day when one arrives!

Lisa, I thought that was strange too, but it turned out great. And low-fat! Just the egg yolk.

Farrah said...

This sounds like something in Tea Time. I'd love to try that sometime. Did you mill your grain? If so, did you use hard or soft and red or white?

Jodes said...

Yummo! Might have to try that :)

Anna said...

I just used purchased flour, a bag of self-rising.

Lynn said...

I never heard of Cream Early Grey - what brand do you use. I've been looking for a strong earl grey

Lynn said...

Where did you find Cream Earl Grey tea?

Anna said...

EnglishTeaStore.com! Best teas ever and good prices.

Sian from Wales! said...

Apart from the marmalade (although some versions might have it in), it sounds very much like a traditional Welsh fruit loaf called "Bara Brith" translated as Speckled bread but nobody calls it that. Lovely sliced thickly with butter spread on top!

Reginas Cottage said...

hi anna
that sounds delicious!!! thankfor sharing.
wishing you a wonderful weekend,
regina

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