Fruitytealoaf Recipes

EASY FRUIT LOAF

Steps:

• Make 250ml (1 cup) of tea, using tea bags or loose leaf tea. Leave the tea to steep for five minutes - you need a strong brew!
• Pour the hot tea over the dried fruit and leave to soak for 2-3 hours or even overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 170C (325F) or 150C (300F) Fan Setting. Line a 900g (2lb) loaf tin with baking paper or use a cake liner.
• Add the eggs and brown sugar to the soaked fruit (no need to drain any liquid, should any remain in the bowl) and stir to combine.
• Sift in the flour and add cinnamon, tea leaves and orange zest. Mix everything together, making sure no dry pockets of flour remain.
• Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin and level. Bake for about 1 hour or until the cake is risen and a skewer inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean.
• Lift the cake out of the tin using the baking paper and cool on a wire rack. Top with the orange zest, if using and slice to serve.

YORKSHIRE TEA LOAF

Steps:

• In a large bowl, add the freshly made tea to the mixed dried fruit. Cover and set aside for a minimum of 4 hours, ideally overnight, to allow all the goodness of the tea to soak into the fruits.
• In the morning, preheat the oven to 160 C fan-assisted and grease and line two 1-pound loaf tins with baking parchment. I use cake liners.
• Add the eggs into the soaked mixed fruit, followed by the sugar. DO NOT remove any of the remaining liquid. Mix thoroughly.
• Add the finely ground tea leaves to the flour and incorporate before adding this into the fruit mixture. Mix thoroughly.
• Pour evenly into the prepared tins and bake for 50 - 55 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Remove from oven.
• Leave in the tins to cool completely before turning out.

THE EASIEST FAT FREE MOIST TEA LOAF

Steps:

• Place the dried mixed fruit & sugar in a large bowl and pour over enough hot tea to just about cover the fruit. Give it a quick stir to dissolve the sugar, cover with a plate and leave overnight.
• Pre-heat the oven to 170°C/340°F/gas mark 3. Add the beaten egg and sieve in the flour. Fold the mixture together with a spoon until it is all mixed in.
• Transfer the mixture to a standard 2lb loaf tin, lined with a standard 2lb loaf tin liner. Place on the middle shelf of the oven and cook for 1 hour and 10 minutes. To test if it's ready, insert a fork into the middle of the cake, if the fork is clean - ie no mixture is stuck to it, it is cooked through. You may need an extra 5 minutes.
• Leave it on a wire rack to cool. Cut into slices to serve. It's also lovely spread with butter.

FRUITY TEA LOAF

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 9x5" loaf pan (can also fit into three 5x3" mini pans).
• Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and then set aside.
• Stir together sugar, yogurt, oil, eggs, vanilla and zest.
• Add flour mixture to wet ingredients and stir gently until well mixed (don't over mix or the loaf will be dry). Stir in dried fruit and nuts gently.
• Pour batter into pan and bake for 45-50 minutes until pick comes out clean (if using mini pans bake 25-30 minutes).
• Cool on wire rack 10 minutes before turning out.
• Stir together the ingredients for the glaze - watching the amount of orange juice to make it a nice pourable glaze and not too runny.
• Drizzle over cooled loaf.