Bara Brith

This is a traditional Welsh rich tea bread, which I had never heard of until recently when my mother posted me her lifetime stash of recipes collected from old magazines (thanks mum!). I have never found a cake so easy to make, the hardest part is remembering to soak your fruit in tea the night before. It reminds me of malt loaf, but the texture is so much nicer. It's moist without being too sticky, soft yet dense, with delicious tea-infused plump fruits. This really is the perfect afternoon tea cake.


Bara Brith is best eaten after being stored in an airtight container for 2 days so that it matures and becomes moist and rich, but if you can't wait it's still good straight away! You can eat it with or without butter.

Ingredients

170g (6oz) dried fruit
230g (8oz) dark brown sugar
½ pint strong hot tea
280g (10oz) self raising flour
1 egg

Soak the dried fruit and sugar in the hot tea overnight (I used 4 teabags to make my tea).

Next day, preheat the oven to 150ºC and line a small loaf tin with buttered greaseproof paper (both sides).

Sieve the flour and fold it into the fruit. Lightly beat the egg then stir it into the mixture. Pour this into your prepared tin and bake for approximately 1½ hours.