Fruity Tea Loaf

What else does Sunday Afternoon call out for other than a nice slice of thickly buttered fruit tea loaf and a pot of tea? 

This delicious cake was a triumph and enjoyed by all the members of the family, I can see it becoming a firm favourite. The recipe I used (which is detailed below) is a hybrid of a couple of different ones - I can't leave anything alone! It's hardly any effort and you just need to be a little prepared to make sure you soak the fruit overnight. The fruit comes out really plumped and juicy so it's well worth it.

You can use any dried fruit you like. I ended up using 150g Waitrose dried cranberries, apricots and pineapple mixed with some sultanas.  I'd like to get some cherries in there next time I think. The demerara sugar topping is optional but I thought it gave it a really lovely crunch.

Fruity Tea Loaf

Ingredients

1 x 250ml cup of black tea

juice of 1 orange plus zest

375g mixed dried fruit

125g light brown sugar

250g plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

pinch of cinnamon

1 egg

demerara sugar for topping

Method

Place the dried fruits  and sugar in a bowl and pour over the hot cup of black tea, orange juice and zest. Stir everything well, cover with clingfilm and leave overnight.

Preheat the oven to 180c/160 fan/gas mark 4. Grease and line a 2lb loaf tin. (You can either do this with a ready-made loaf tin liner or just butter the tin and line the bottom with some baking parchment). 

In a large mixing bowl, carefully mix the plain flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and cinnamon with the tea-soaked fruit and then finally beat in the egg.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared loaf tin and smooth over the surface. Sprinkle the top with a thick layer of demerara sugar and bake in the oven for 1 hour or until cooked (insert a skewer into the centre, it should come out clean).  Leave the loaf to cool in the tin before cutting into slices and serving.

This will serve approximately 10-12, depending on how thick you cut your slices I guess!

A really hearty, traditional tea-time cake that you can't go wrong with.