Operation Tea Brack.

Today, going along with the local theme I seemed to start with my Parkin recipe, I thought I'd bake some Yorkshire Tea Brack. What on Earth is brack, I hear you ask? Well, I don't know either. According to sparse Google results, tea brack is a 'deliciously fruity cross between cake and bread' and I think that definition suffices. It's like a cake in that there's self-raising flour, soaked fruits and sugar but it's like a bread in that it doesn't contain any fats like butter or margarine. It's a really simple and healthy cake and it tastes great. It's great at this time of year as a hearty dessert and has a less distinct taste than traditional Christmas cake.

Ingredients:

150ml of hot tea.
454g of mixed dried fruit (sultanas, raisins, currants or any one if you prefer).
175g of sugar.
1 egg.
225g of self-raising flour.

Notes:

1. I didn't have any self-raising flour so I combined plain with baking powder for the same effect.
2. Please note that the first step of the instructions must be done 24hrs in advance.
3. Please note that I halved the recipe above this time and it cooked perfectly in 40 minutes.


Instructions:

1. Place the mixed fruit in a large bowl. Pour the hot tea over the fruit and leave it to soak overnight.
 

Raisins after soaking in tea overnight.

2. Preheat the oven to 160 degrees Celsius or Gas Mark 2 and grease a 2lb loaf tin. (I didn't have one so I went for a conventional square cake tin and the results were fine).

3. To the bowl of soaked fruit and tea, add one egg and beat into the mixture.

 4. Add the flour and sugar (and a pinch of salt, if you like) before stirring well until all ingredients are combined.

 5. Pour the mixture into a greased tin and bake for 1 hour. After this time, test with a skewer - it should come out clean if the cake is cooked. If not, give it another ten minutes.

6. Leave the cake to cool in the tin before removing, slicing and enjoying! :)

 

  

It's a really moist cake but it's quite heavy so you don't need much - the above portion was well enough for two people. It's even better with custard. If I linked up to your party, you'll find your button in the Link Party tab to the right. :)