Welsh Bara Brith: Spiced Tea Loaf with Dried Fruit and Salted Butter for Autumn Mornings

The night before, brew the tea strong and pour it hot over the mixed dried fruit, apricots and brown sugar in a large bowl. Stir, cover and leave at room temperature overnight so the fruit swells and drinks up the tea.

Serves 10

Ingredients

• 300 ml strong hot black tea
• 350 g mixed dried fruit (raisins, sultanas and currants)
• 75 g chopped dried apricots or candied peel
• 150 g dark brown sugar
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 275 g self-raising flour
• 2 teaspoons mixed spice (or 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, 1/2 tsp allspice)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
• Zest of 1 orange
• 2 tablespoons honey, for glazing
• Salted butter, to serve

Instructions

1. The night before, brew the tea strong and pour it hot over the mixed dried fruit, apricots and brown sugar in a large bowl. Stir, cover and leave at room temperature overnight so the fruit swells and drinks up the tea.
2. Heat the oven to 160°C (325°F). Grease a 900 g (2 lb) loaf tin and line it with baking paper so the long sides overhang.
3. Stir the beaten egg and orange zest into the soaked fruit mixture, including any tea left in the bowl.
4. Sift the self-raising flour, mixed spice, ginger and salt over the fruit. Fold gently with a spatula until no dry flour remains; the batter will be thick and heavy with fruit.
5. Scrape into the tin, level the top and bake for 1 hour 30 minutes to 1 hour 45 minutes, until a skewer pushed into the centre comes out clean. Tent loosely with foil after an hour if the top is browning too fast.
6. Warm the honey and brush it over the hot loaf. Leave in the tin for 15 minutes, then lift out and cool completely on a rack.
7. Wrap in baking paper and keep for a day before slicing if you can; the loaf becomes moister and the spice deepens. Slice thickly and spread generously with salted butter.
8. Bara brith means 'speckled bread' in Welsh, and its roots lie in the farmhouse kitchens of rural Wales, where cooks stretched leftover dough with dried fruit and a pot of tea. Today it is the tea loaf of every Welsh bakery and Eisteddfod stall, and in autumn, when the mornings turn cold and the kettle is always on, a buttered slice alongside a strong cup of tea is as warming a breakfast as the hills can offer.

Nutrition (estimated, per serving)

• Calories: 285 kcal
• Protein: 4g
• Fat: 2g
• Carbohydrates: 66g
• Fiber: 3g
• Sugar: 42g
• Sodium: 180mg