I found what reads like a nice recipe to try, for a Tea Cake. The recipe is on BBC Good Food. The recipe calls for mixed dried berries and cherries. In my supermarket the only dried berries were cranberries. So I opted to use mixed dried fruit instead. The flavour should still be good, even though different from the recipe.
I show the recipe below, and make a separate note about the fruit I used. I have another comment to make. The recipe calls for 225ml of hot tea to soak the fruit in. That is what I did, including using the orange juice. However after leaving it overnight, although most of the liquid had been absorbed there was still some left. I was worried about what to do, whether to use it when mixing in the fruit, or whether to strain the fruit and discard the excess. I decided to discard it, as I was worried about the mixture being too wet. However, when I had mixed the butter, sugar, eggs and flour the resultant mixture was very dry indeed. Too late, my excess liquid was gone, so I added a little semi-skimmed milk to moisten things a little. Just enough to allow me to easily mix in the fruit.
On reflection I should have had faith, the recipe would have told me, if I should discard any excess liquid. But I am sure all will be fine. Maybe I will try the recipe again, and update this blog entry to let you know the result of that.
But for now I can say the cake smells very good as it bakes, and it has risen well. The pictures below, is after the cake has cooled and been cut.
It certainly tastes good, and is moist too. I must try it again, without discarding any liquid, as that will surely intensify the flavour and make it even more moist.
Ingredients:
- 300g mixture dried berries and cherries ( I used mixed dried fruit instead)
- 225ml hot tea
- juice 1 orange (about 75ml/2½fl oz) plus zest
- 50g butter
- 100g light brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 225g self-raising flour ( I made my own, 225g plain flour and 3 tsp of baking powder)
- 4 tbsp demerara sugar
- Place the dried fruits in a bowl and pour over the hot tea, orange juice and zest. Cover with cling film, then leave for at least 4 hrs or better still overnight.
- Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Grease and line the base of a 2lb loaf tin. Beat together the butter and sugar until creamy, then beat in the egg followed by the flour. Carefully stir through the fruit mixture. Spoon the mixture into the tin, then smooth over the surface with the back of a spoon. Sprinkle all over with a thick layer of demerara sugar.
- Bake for 1 hr or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin, then turn out, cut into slices and serve.