Earl Grey Tea Loaf
This recipe is for a lovely light and fruity loaf, made not only with dried vine fruits but dried Medjool dates, dried apricots and dried figs also, which are all soaked in hot strong Earl Grey tea and later infused with Earl Grey tea syrup.
For this recipe I have used light coloured sultanas as over here in the Middle East we can buy differing ‘colour’ types. If you cannot find the LIGHT version use the standard ‘darker’ sultana.
It is also possible to use a natural Earl Grey tea leaf if you prefer, and as a delicious alternative the smokey leaves of Lapsang Soochong.
A delightful afternoon tea cake with a unique aroma and taste.
Ingredients
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Fruit Loaf
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32g raisins
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32g sultanas- pale or dark
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32g medjool dates- stones removed
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32g dried apricots- chopped
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32g dried figs- chopped
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100g caster sugar
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250ml hot strong Earl Grey tea
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250g self-raising flour- sieved
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½ tsp grated nutmeg
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1 egg
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Earl Grey Tea Syrup
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2 tea bags- Earl Grey flavoured
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250ml boiling water
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100g sugar- granulated
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juice ½ lemon
Instructions
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Soak dried fruit:
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01 Place all dried fruit in a bowl with sugar. Pour over hot tea and leave for 1 hour or until cool.
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Make loaf:
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02 Sift flour and add nutmeg.
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03 Beat the egg into cooled fruit mixture. Gently fold in the flour and spice.
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04 Transfer the mixture to a well greased, floured and lined loaf tin.
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05 Bake for 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
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06 Allow to cool in the tin. When cool soak loaf with the warm Earl Grey tea syrup.
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07 Store in an airtight container.
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Earl Grey tea syrup:
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08 Infuse tea in boiling water for 10 minutes, and then strain into a saucepan.
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09 Add remaining ingredients. Bring to boil, stirring until sugar dissolves.
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10 Boil for 5 – 10 minutes to form syrup.
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11 Allow to cool slightly and then pour all over Earl Grey tea loaf.
Notes
Loaf ingredients will fill a 21cm x 9 cm loaf tin. Please note these 'cake style' sweet loaves are better cooked at moderate temperatures. The reason for this being predominantly that they are a dense batter style cake, which when a large amount take time to heat through and cook. Do not be tempted to speed up the cooking process by cooking at a higher temperature as this will prevent the loaf from rising well, and more than often cause a crusty and cracked top. After baking I recommend to always store the tea loaf in an airtight container in order to preserve its unique flavour.
