If you are anything like me you dislike this time of year because all of the Christmas treats that you love are no longer available, don’t seem appropriate or you are trying your best to not indulge too much!
Personally, I don’t subscribe to the “new year, new me” philosophy and would given half the chance, eat Christmas cake, mince pies and Christmas pudding all year around.
This tea loaf resembles a rich fruit cake but takes next to no time to put together and bake once you get a little prep done the night before. Unlike a Christmas cake that needs weeks of love and care to mature this tea loaf can be eaten pretty much straight away.
I have been enjoying this cake spread liberally with butter and dare I say it the brandy butter left over from the Christmas pudding that we didn’t get around to eating.
It’s the perfect bake for this time of year. The perfect transitional bake from the richness of Christmas treats to the lighter bakes synonymous with spring and renewal.
I used ras-el-hanout to spice this cake. A wonderful Morrocan spice blend that includes cinnamon, coriander, cardamom, ginger, nutmeg and rose petals. It adds a gentle warmth to this simple cake.
The key to this cake’s moistness is preparing the dried fruit the night before. It’s all down to soaking the dried fruit in hot tea the night before. I used The Karma Tea Co Assam tea to soak my fruit. Assam tea is a type of black tea that is renowned for its rich, malty flavour and many health benefits. You can really pick up on that malty flavour within the cake.
Morrocan Spiced Tea Loaf
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
- Milk
- Butter for serving optional
Instructions
- 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.
Disclaimer – I was kindly sent some tea from The Karma Tea Co to try. I wasn’t paid to write this post and all views are my own as always.