Earl Grey Fruited Tea Loaf

Sunday 18 June 2017

Earl Grey Fruited Tea Loaf





My husband is a very simple man with very simple tastes.  There is nothing he loves more than a fruit tea loaf, and this is one of the best. 
 

The recipe has been adapted from one I found in the cookery book, Supper For a Song by Tamasin Day-Lewis.



Earl Grey Fruited Tea Loaf





Its a really simple loaf to make but does need some prior planning, as you need to soak the fruit overnight in an amount of Earl Grey Tea, which really helps to plump up the fruit nicely.  



I love the flavours of Earl Grey, with the Bergamot . . .



Earl Grey Fruited Tea Loaf




I like to use a really nice fruit when I make a fruit loaf. I use a quality dried fruit mix, with plenty of sultanas, currants, raisins and cherries.  


I also added some dried cranberries to the mix, but dried blueberries would also be nice.



Earl Grey Fruited Tea Loaf




Its also very low in fat, in that there is no fat added.  



Just the soaked fruit, some dark brown sugar, a beaten egg and some self rising flour.   It goes together lickety split! 


You can easily make your own self rising flour by adding 1 1/2 tsp of baking powder and 1/4 tsp salt to each cup of flour.



Earl Grey Fruited Tea Loaf




This is delicious cut into thin slices.  


You can toast it or not  . . .  but a tiny bit of softened butter is also a great addition when you come down to eating it.


Earl Grey Fruited Tea Loaf




Oh boy . . .  a lightly buttered slice of this goes down really well with a nice drink at breakfast, or for coffee time, tea time, or just because, just because . . .  



just because you fancy something a little bit like this.  Oh we are so naughty sometimes!




Earl Grey Fruited Tea Loaf




Some other loaves here in the English Kitchen that you might enjoy are:


GINGERED GINGERBREAD LOAF - Deep, dense and delicious this gingerbread loaf packs a double whammy of ginger with plenty of powdered ginger and a generous amount of candied ginger bits studding it throughout. Sweetly glazed it is a fabulous loaf for the holidays, or anytime really.


GLAZED LEMON LOAF - The perfect lemon loaf. A recipe adapted from the old Purity Cookbook. Lemon loaf does not get much better than this!




Yield: one (2 lb.) loaf
Author: Marie Rayner
https://www.theenglishkitchen.co/2022/12/gingered-gingerbread-loaf.html

https://www.theenglishkitchen.co/2022/12/gingered-gingerbread-loaf.html

Prep time: 24 HourCook time: 1 H & 30 MTotal time: 25 H & 30 M
This is a moist and fruity loaf that is delicious sliced thinly and buttered, toasted or not as you please. Plan ahead as you must soak the fruit overnight prior to baking. I use a luxury mix of fruit, which has dried currants, sultanas, raisins, dried cranberries and cherries. This loaf keeps beautifully and freezes well. You can keep it for about a week wrapped in greaseproof paper, foil or in an airtight tin.

Ingredients

  • 400g mixed dried fruit (2 2/3 cups)
  • 120g dark muscovado sugar (1/2 cup, plus 1 TBS, packed, can use dark brown sugar)
  • 300ml hot earl grey tea, freshly made and strongly steeped (1 1/3 cups)
  • 225g self raising flour (1 1/4 cups plus 3 tsp)
  • 1 large free range egg, beaten lightly

Instructions

  1. Place the fruit into a bowl along with the sugar. Pour the hot tea over it. Cover with a tea towel and leave to set overnight.
  2. Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter a 2 pound loaf tin and line it with baking paper.
  3. Sift the flour over the dried fruit in the bowl and add the beaten egg. Stir everything together until combined. Spread into the prepared loaf tin.
  4. Bake for 1 hour. Reduce the oven temperature to 160*C/325*F/ gas mark 3. Bake for an additional 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Cool in the tin on a wire rack. Turn out once cold and remove the paper. Store airtight. I like to leave it overnight before slicing.
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Earl Grey Fruited Tea Loaf




Simple and old fashioned.  You can't get much better than this!  Bon Appetit! 




Earl Grey Fruited Tea Loaf 



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17 comments

  1. It does look moist and delicious..

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  2. Hi - I am in the US - could you tell me the dimensions of a 2 pound loaf pan? Sometimes US pans and UK pans are different and I want to be sure mine isn't too far off. I make a lot of your recipes and I really like them!

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    Replies
    1. Hi there! My pan is 9 X5 X 4 approximately! I hope this helps! I am so pleased you enjoy my recipes!

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  3. I love this recipe; thank you for sharing it. I like eating it slathered with an imported Irish butter we get here. As an American of only British heritage, I am glad that you are debunking the myth that my ancestor's cooking is mediocre.

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  4. Traditional? English? The ingredients should be in ounces :-) I might make it then.

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    Replies
    1. This is a British recipe. Not all British recipes are in ounces, many are in grams. I go to great efforts to make sure my recipes are in measurements that are understandable on both sides of the pond. When I post the measurements in ounces I get people complaining. When I post in grams I get people complaining. There is just no pleasing some people. Some people are just looking for any reason to nit pick. This is a very traditional recipe. If you choose the fact I have used grams in this recipe as your criteria as to whether this is a good recipe or not, then you are going to be missing out on something really delicious. Have a nice day. PS - When I wrote this post in 2017 I was living in the UK and had been for over 17 years. This is a British recipe.

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    2. Anonymous - why not get yourself a little set of American measuring cups ? You can buy them quite cheaply in any supermarket here in the U.K. You won't even need to get the scales out of the cupboard ! Give them a try . This cake is my favourite !

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  5. I was wondering if it’s similar to a Christmas fruit cake? It looks like a good replacement as it doesn’t need to age.

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    Replies
    1. It is not quite like a fruit cake. Fruit cakes are a bit more buttery. It is very lovely however and I would certainly have no problem to use it in the place of a fruit cake. It will not keep for much more than a week however. I hope this helps!

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  6. Is there any fat (butter or oil) in this recipe?

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  7. I've made the tea cake but since taking it out of oven it's dry what can I do to make it moist please help

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    Replies
    1. I assume you are talking about this cake? I am not sure why yours is dry. Perhaps you overbaked it. I suggest you wrap it up very tightly, first in plastic wrap and then in tinfoil. Leave it sit overnight and see how it is in the morning.

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