Brack — A Lovely Tea Loaf

Brack - My Favourite Cake

Ingredients

450g sultanas 220g raisins 220g currants 350g demerara sugar 300ml hot tea 2 eggs 450g Be-Ro Self-Raising Flour

Method

In a large, heat-resistant bowl, mix together the sultanas, raisins, and currants. Dissolve the demerara sugar in the hot tea (see tip below) and pour over the dried fruit.

Cover the bowl and leave the mixture to soak overnight.

The next day, preheat the oven to 150°C (fan oven) or 170°C (conventional oven).

Grease and line the bases of two 2lb loaf tins — this is a double-quantity recipe, so you’ll need both tins. I make a double quantity because the loaves keep well and with the cost of energy I think I might as well bake two as one as I’m heating the oven anyway.

Add the eggs to the soaked fruit mixture and beat well. Then, slowly stir in the self-raising flour until fully combined.

Divide the mixture evenly between the two prepared tins.

Bake for 1 hour 30 minutes to 1 hour 45 minutes, or until the loaves are firm and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Allow to cool in the tins for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Tip

Always use hot tea to help the sugar dissolve and allow the dried fruit to swell more easily. A useful method is to dissolve the demerara sugar in the hot tea first by stirring it in a saucepan, then pouring the mixture over the dried fruit before soaking.