Rich, Moist and Malty Tea Loaf

At this time of the year when the festivities are over and it's cold and dark outside a simple, spicy, slightly sticky tea loaf is particularly appealing. This recipe, created Tara's Busy Kitchen, is moist and dark with dried fruit and sweetly spiced with cinnamon, coriander, cardamom, ginger, and nutmeg. The star ingredient though is Assam tea which gives the cake a rich, malty flavour. Take a bite, close your eyes and enjoy!  

INGREDIENTS

• 150 g raisins or mix of currants and raisins
• 75 g dried prunes finely chopped
• 75 g dried apricots finely chopped
• 75 g dried figs finely chopped
• 250 ml hot black tea I used The Karma Tea Co Assam
• 225 g self-raising flour
• 2 tsp ras-el-hanout
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 150 g soft light brown sugar
• 1 egg lightly beaten

METHOD

• Put the dried fruit in a bowl and cover with the hot tea. Leave overnight so the fruits become plump and juicy.
• Preheat the oven to 190C/180C fan. Line and grease a 1lb loaf tin with baking parchment.
• Sift the flour, ras-el-hanout, and salt together in a large bowl and add in the sugar. Add the fruit mixture including the remaining liquid and the egg. Stir it all together. The batter should be a dropping consistency. If the batter is too thick then add a little milk to loosen.
• Scrape the cake mixture into the prepared loaf tin and bake in the oven for 50-55 minutes or until a skewer or knife inserted comes out clean. Remove from the oven and set aside for 10 minutes to cool. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
• Slice and spread thickly with butter to serve. Perfect with a cup of tea. The cake will keep for up to three days after which it’s good toasted.

This recipe is from Tara's Busy Kitchen recipe blog.