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Bara brith
Tea-soaked fruit loaf
Bara brith: Welsh tea-soaked speckled fruit loaf
Bara brith means 'speckled bread', and this is the fruit loaf of Welsh farmhouses and tea rooms from Snowdonia to the Gower. Dried fruit is soaked overnight in strong black tea, then mixed with sugar, egg, flour and spice, so it is moist, dark and keeps well without any butter in the mix. Slice it thickly and spread with salted Welsh butter. Chef's tip: wrap it and wait a day before cutting; it gets stickier and slices cleaner.
- Total time
- 85 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 12
Ingredients
- 12 ½ oz mixed dried fruit
- 1 ¼ cups hot strong black tea
- 5 ½ oz soft brown sugar
- 1 eggbeaten
- 10 ½ oz self-raising flour
- 1 tsp mixed spice
- 1 tbsp marmaladeopt
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Put the 12 ½ oz mixed dried fruit and 5 ½ oz soft brown sugar in a bowl, pour over the 1 ¼ cups hot strong black tea, stir, cover and leave overnight.
720 minStep 2: Heat the oven to 350°F (300°F fan) and line a 900 g loaf tin.
3 minStep 3: Stir the 1 egg, 1 tbsp marmalade, 10 ½ oz self-raising flour and 1 tsp mixed spice into the soaked fruit and its liquid until no dry flour remains.
3 minStep 4: Spoon into the tin and bake for 60–70 minutes, until risen, dark and a skewer comes out clean. A common mistake is a too-hot oven, which burns the fruit on top; cover with foil after 40 minutes if needed.
68 minStep 5: Cool in the tin for 15 minutes, then on a rack. Wrap well and keep for a day before slicing.
15 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 220 kcal
- Protein
- 4 g
- Carbs
- 48 g
- Fat
- 1 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does bara brith take?
- About 85 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 70 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 12 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of soft brown sugar?
- White sugar + 1 tbsp molasses or treacle per 200g.
- What can I use instead of egg?
- 1 tbsp ground flaxseed + 3 tbsp water per egg, left for 5 minutes (baking only; vegan).
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Perfect for:Tea-time