Fruit Tea Loaf
Fruit Tea Loaf is a traditional sweet treat that’s adaptable to whatever dried fruit you have and whichever spices and flavourings you like.
It contains no added fat (other than a little in the egg) but is delicious spread with butter. Perfect with a cuppa or to eat as part of an afternoon tea along with sandwiches.
Dried fruit is soaked in hot tea until plump and cooled. It’s then drained and mixed with self-raising flour, sugar, egg and your choice of flavourings: in this post I’ve used mixed spice and orange zest.
Baked in 40-45 minutes, once cold the Fruit Tea Loaf should keep for a week.
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TEA LOAVES
The British Isles are particularly fond of their tea breads or tea loaves. These fruit-filled sweet bakes, usually served sliced and spread with butter, are perfect alongside a cuppa or as part of an afternoon tea. There are umpteen versions across these islands, including Welsh bara brith and Irish barmbrack.
While they would probably once have all been made with yeast, these days it’s common to use self-raising flour in a Fruit Tea Loaf. Which makes them wonderfully quick and easy.
One thing many of them have in common is, unlike traditional cakes, they contain no butter. This is said to give them better keeping qualities. But butter-lovers like me don’t miss out as we eat each slice lavishly spread with it!
Most often, dried fruit is first soaked in black tea so it plumps up nicely. Once cold, some of the soaking liquid is then used to moisten the batter.
You can use almost any dried fruit and any tea. Here I included raisins, sultanas, currants and dried mixed peel. By no means a tea connoisseur, I used bog-standard tea bags. But you could swap in Earl Grey, English Breakfast Tea or a couple of spicy chai teabags.
Many recipes will tell you to soak the fruit overnight. But I find that, so long as the tea is hot when you pour it over, the 30-40 minutes it takes to go cold is time enough. When the fruit is ready, remember to strain it over a jug so you can collect the liquid and use it later.
EASY FRUIT TEA LOAF
I usually add a few extra flavours to my Fruit Tea Loaf, although these are entirely optional. With the self-raising flour and a pinch of salt I sift in a teaspoon of mixed spice. You could replace this with cinnamon or a chai spice mix if you like.
If there’s an orange in the fruit bowl then I might grate in its zest. You could add lemon instead or leave out the citrus.
The only other ingredients you need are sugar (I like the hint of caramelised flavour from soft brown sugar) and a beaten egg. For a slightly lighter loaf you can add an extra egg if you like.
I prefer my tea loaves not too sweet, so you might find there’s less sugar in mine than other recipes you come across. But sweetness is a very subjective thing. Add more sugar if you like, or even leave out if the dried fruit brings enough sweetness for you.
The consistency of your batter should be quite thick. A firm dropping consistency should cling to your spoon but drop off with one good shake.
To get this consistency, I find I usually need to add 1-3 tablespoons of the soaking liquid, depending on whether I’ve used 1 or 2 eggs. Different flours do absorb varying amounts of liquid though. So, you may find you need a little less or a tablespoon or so more to get the texture shown above.
BAKING FRUIT TEA LOAF
The mixture should be put into a loaf tin that’s approximately 20 x 10 x 6 cm. Grease it with butter first or, as I do, pop in a loaf liner.
My recipe makes one small tea loaf and should take 40 – 45 minutes to bake. As ovens do vary though, I recommend you check after 30 minutes and, if the loaf is browning too quickly, cover the top loosely with a piece of foil.
To test whether it’s done, insert a skewer or cocktail stick. It should come out perfectly clean.
Be sure to put the tea loaf on a wire rack and leave until completely cold before slicing. My preference is for salted butter as I love its contrast with the sweet fruit.
SERVING & STORING
If you’re the abstemious sort, you could eat the loaf as it is, simply thickly sliced. But I think a tea loaf isn’t a tea loaf unless it’s spread with delicious creamy dairy butter. You could even enjoy Fruit Tea Loaf with a good cheese, as they do fruit cake in Yorkshire and other parts of northern England.
The loaf should easily keep for a week. I wrap it in the paper liner it was baked in and store in an airtight plastic box. You can also freeze the loaf. If you have two tins, then double the recipe so you can eat one of them and freeze the other.
A satisfying and traditional treat, Fruit Tea Loaf is so easy to make. It’s also adaptable to whatever dried fruit you have and whichever flavourings you want to add. Try it with glace cherries, dates or dried apricots, ginger or cinnamon. You could even add chopped nuts like walnuts or hazelnuts.
Lovely with a cuppa or as part of a traditional afternoon tea, I hope you give this recipe a try.
Have you made Fruit Tea Loaf?
Leave a comment and don’t forget to rate the recipe.
Fruit Tea Loaf
A traditional, fruity loaf that's delicious spread with butter and eaten with a cuppa or as part of an afternoon tea.
Ingredients
- butter for greasing the tin and to serve
- 225 g mixed dried fruit e.g. raisins, sultanas, currants, citrus peel
- 200 ml strong hot black tea
- 225 g self raising flour
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 - 2 tsp mixed spice or cinnamon optional
- 110 g soft brown sugar
- 1 orange or lemon, zest only optional
- 1 egg (beaten) For a slightly more risen loaf you can use 2 eggs
Instructions
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Put the dried fruit into a heatproof bowl and pour over the hot tea.
Set aside until cold (approx 30-40 minutes or leave overnight).
Place a sieve over a jug and pour in the fruit and liquid. Leave to drain but keep the liquid as you'll use a little of it later.
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Preheat the oven to 180°C / 160°C Fan / Gas 4 / 350°F
Grease a loaf tin approx. 20 x 10 x 6 cm or insert a paper liner.
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Sift into a bowl the flour, salt and spices if using.
Stir in the sugar, the drained fruit, plus the orange or lemon zest if using.
Pour in the beaten egg(s) along with 1 - 2 tablespoons of the reserved soaking liquid.
Fold everything together, adding a little more of the soaking liquid if needed to create a firm dropping consistency: the mixture should stay on the spoon but fall off if given a firm shake.
Transfer the mixture to the prepared tin and smooth the top.
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Put in the middle shelf of the oven and bake until a skewer inserted comes out clean (40-45 min).
Tip: check after 30 minutes and if the loaf is browning too quickly cover it loosely with a piece of foil.
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Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes then turn the loaf out and put on a wire rack until completely cold.
Serve thickly sliced, spread with butter.
Keeps up to a week wrapped and in an airtight container or can be frozen.
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I have made this loaf. The recipe works really well – it is easy to make and tastes delicious. I will be making it again.
Thanks for taking the time to give your feedback and rate the recipe, Ian!