Tea Loaf

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Lancashire Tea got in touch a while back and we did some swapsies. You see, they asked me for the tea loaf recipe which I had tweeted about on Lancashire Day back in November- a slightly more luxurious take on traditional tea loaf made, of course, with Lancashire Tea.

In return for the recipe, they gave me a bit of tea! So I thought that I had better put some of these tea bags to good use and share my recipe with you.

Tea loaf is one of those cakes that it’s good to ‘have in’ during the week in case a coach load of grannies pops by! It is also a good cake to indulge in at 3pm when you are having an afternoon slump but a bar of chocolate seems too much. It’s fulfilling without feeling too naughty.

My problem with tea loaf if that I have had them and all that they had to offer was a few sorry currants or raisins. Dullsville. So I replaced the dried disaster with a bag of luxury mixed fruit, soaked in tea for as long as you can (over night if I am organised) and the difference is amazing.

Also, if you don’t tip in all of the tea you soaked your fruit in it is still moist but not wet like some tea loaves are. It goes nice and chewy on the outside and stays moist inside.

So try a bag of luxury mixed fruit, or mix up your own favourite (I like dried sour cherries in mine). And if you really want to mix it up, you could even add a dash of rum or brandy to the tea you soak the fruit in.

tea loafA bit more exciting tea loaf

Pot of tea made with 2 or 3 Lancashire Tea bags

250g luxury mixed fruit (I like to include sour cherries)

100g walnuts and / or pecans chopped

250g self raising flour

150g soft light brown sugar

1 large egg, beaten

Method

  • Make a pot of tea and allow it to cool. When cool, pour over the fruit in a bowl so it just covers it. Allow to steep for a couple of hours, or even overnight. Drain off any remaining tea but keep it to one side
  • Pre heat oven to 175c
  • Line or grease a 2lb loaf tin
  • Mix the nuts, sugar, flour and egg into the fruit. If it is a bit dry and not coming together, add a bit of the tea you put aside earlier.
  • Pour the mixture into your loaf tin
  • Cook for 75-90 mins- it is cooked when a skewer inserted comes out clean. Keep an eye on it after an hour to make sure the top doesn’t catch – you may want to turn it down a touch
  • Turn out onto a rack and allow to cool

I like to put butter and Clippy’s Apple Pie Jam on mine…and of course you need a nice cuppa too!

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