Irish Tea Barmbrack

This is an easy dark fruit cake or tea brack, which involves soaking dried fruit in strong black tea overnight. Barmbrack was traditionally served on Halloween in Ireland. Items, such as a ring to signify a wedding in the near future, would be wrapped up in paper and baked in the cake for one lucky person to find in their slice! There's no butter required for the recipe itself, but it's worth buttering every slice of this. Stored in an airtight tin, this cake will keep for 10 days.

• Preparation Time: 15 mins
• Cooking Time: 1 hr 30 mins
• Total Time: 1 hr 45 mins
• Calories: 299 Calories

Ingredients

• 1 egg
• 2 cups raisins
• ¼ cup candied mixed fruit peel
• 1 ¾ cups self-rising flour
• ¾ cup golden raisins (sultanas)
• 1 teaspoon molasses (treacle), or more to taste (Optional)
• 1 ¼ cups warm, strong black tea
• 1 cup turbinado (demerara) sugar
• ¼ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (mixed spice)

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Mix raisins, golden raisins, mixed fruit peel, and molasses with black tea in a bowl; cover and let soak, 8 hours to overnight.

Step 2

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and line a loaf pan with parchment paper.

Step 3

Stir flour, turbinado sugar, egg, and pumpkin pie spice into raisin mixture until well mixed; pour into the prepared loaf pan.

Step 4

Bake in the preheated oven until barmbrack is firm to the touch, about 1 1/2 hours. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.