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.