Lemon Tea Bread
These tasty little loaves will not let you down. Easy to make, keep at least two weeks in a tin, low in fat, minimal skill required and if you use my cake lining paste there is no paper tin lining required either. Low cost too – I calculate each loaf is costing not much more than £1. Maybe halve the ingredients and bake one tea loaf in a 2 lb loaf tin,
Makes 3 x 1lb loaves or use half the recipe for 1 x 2 lb loaf tin
Ingredients
800g Mixed Dried fruit and peel
2 lemons – finely grated zest and juice
200g Dark brown soft sugar
250ml Hot tea (I used English Breakfast but try Earl Grey or Darjeerling)
½ tsp ground mixed spice
2 eggs
60ml Vegetable Oil
450g Self Raising Flour (or gluten free flour)
80g Chopped Mixed Nuts (lightly toasted)
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Preparation
Start the night before.
In a large roomy mixing bowl place the fruit and lemon juice and zests. In a separate bowl place the brown sugar and spice then pour over the hot tea. Stir until the sugar dissolves then pour this over the mixed fruits. Give a good mix then leave overnight or at least six hours. The fruit will plump up and absorb much of the liquid.
When ready to mix and bake preheat the oven to 150 degrees centigrade (conventional oven). You will need 3 x 1lb loaf tins either paper lined or brushed with lining paste or for a half quantity of the recipe brush a 2 lb loaf tin with lining paste.
Beat together the eggs and the oil and pour this over the fruit and stir well. Sift over the flour and fold this in and finally add in the nuts. Give everything a good stir and divide between the three tins or 2 lb tin.
Bake for 1 hour exactly or one hour 15 minutes for the 2 lb loaf. The cakes should be leaving the sides of the tin, may have a crack along the centre but will feel firm to the touch. If you place a metal skewer into the cake it should come out clean and feel hot to the touch.
Place the cakes, still in their tins onto cooling racks and leave to cool completely then pop them out of their tins. Once completely cold wrap in greaseproof paper and place in a tin stored in a cool place. These cakes improve and slice easier after being stored for a day or two. These cakes freeze well and make great little gifts.
TIP – for clean cut slices use a sharp serrated bread knife and slice as you would bread. Don’t press too hard and take your time. A blunt knife or quick cut and the cake will crumble. Fingers of tea bread also make a great addition to an Afternoon Tea selection of treats.
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