Fruit and tea loaf
If you had to bake for a Zombie apocalypse, this would be the thing to make. It keeps f-o-r-e-v-e-r.
This classic, hefty, long-keeping loaf is based on a traditional Welsh bread called bara brith (which means ‘speckled bread’); some versions use yeast for the rising, not baking powder. The beauty of this loaf/cake is that it’s as easy as baking gets; if you can boil water, pour it into a bowl, use a spoon to stir, and operate an oven, you can make this. If you care about such things, it’s technically fat-free, although lashings of butter to serve (absolutely mandatory) kind of put paid to that. You could also serve it with a hard English cheese; aged cheddar or red Leicester spring instantly to mind. The only watch point is not to cut into it straight away once it’s cooled; it needs time to settle and firm a bit, so leave your loaf overnight before hacking it up. And don’t worry; yours won’t stick around being eaten because it’s pretty irresistible. Unless of course the Zombies come for you and you need to make it last. Good luck with that.
MAKES 1 x 21x11x7cm LOAF
500g (2¾ cups) mixed dried fruit
1 tea bag (Earl Gray, English Breakfast etc)
185ml (¾ cup) boiling water
125g (⅔ cup, lightly packed) brown sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
finely grated rind of 1 orange
125g plain flour
¾ tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground nutmeg
¼ tsp ground cloves
softened butter, to serve
Combine the fruit, tea bag and boiling water in a large bowl, pushing the tea bag to the base of the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, then stand for 3 hours or overnight. Discard the tea bag.
Preheat the oven to 160˚C. Lightly grease and flour the sides of a 21x11x7cm (5 cup-capacity) loaf tin and line the base with baking paper.
Add the sugar, egg and orange rind to the fruit mixture, then stir to combine well. Sift the flour, baking powder and spices into a bowl, then add to the fruit mix. Using a large, metal spoon, stir to mix well. Pour into the tin, smoothing the surface even, then bake for 1 hour 35 minutes, or until a cake tester withdraws clean. Cover the top with foil if it browns too quickly. Cool in the tin, then turn out. Serve sliced and spread with butter.
