Perfect for Christmas day, a wedding reception, or a lazy Sunday afternoon!
This special easy fruit cake loaf uses fruit that’s been infused with one of our new loose leaf tea blends that’s part of our dessert range. Enjoy on its own or with a comforting brew.
Ingredients
- 50g cranberries
- 50g raisins
- 50g glacé cherries
- 25g chopped dates
- 25g chopped apricots
- 65g butter
- 65g soft light brown sugar
- 2 medium eggs
- 125g self raising flour
- 30ml milk
- 1 tsp strawberry jam
- 1 tsp mixed spice
- 20g fruit cake tea (brewed with 100ml boiling water)
Equipment
- Bowl (for fruit infusion)
- Mixing bowl
- Whisk
- Sieve
- 1lb loaf tin
- Baking parchment
- Cake skewer
Method
Making this 1lb loaf tin fruit cake recipe is a fantastically therapeutical activity. Chopping fruits, whisking ingredients, and having a soothing sip of fruit cake tea while waiting – ideal as the colder evenings start creeping in.
Follow our instructions below and you can’t go wrong!
Step 1 – Prepare the fruit infusion
- Heat oven to 150o so it is ready for later
- Boil a cup of our Fruit Cake Tea (smell the aromas to get you in the mood for baking!)
- Chop your dates and apricot if needed and gather all of your fruit in a bowl
- Sieve the tea and pour it over the fruit
- Cover the bowl with clingfilm to allow it to infuse and set it aside for later
Step 2 – Combine the ingredients
- In a mixing bowl, beat your butter and sugar together with a whisk
- Slowly add your eggs to the mixture and continue to whisk
- Add in the rest of your ingredients (flour, milk, jam, mixed spice) and give it a final whisk
- Once your fruit infusion has cooled, add this to your mixing bowl and give it a gentle stir – be careful not to break the fruit
Step 3 – Bake
- Pour the mixture into the loaf tin lined with baking parchment
- Bake in the oven for 1 hour 20 minutes
- When the time is up, test with the cake skewer. If the skewer is clean then the cake is ready to be removed from the oven
Step 4 – Enjoy
- Once the cake is finished, leave it out of the oven for 10 minutes before removing it from the tin
- Remove from loaf tin and place onto a wire rack
- If you have the patience, wait for it to cool! Once the cake is cooled it will be easier to cut
- Serve and enjoy or store in an airtight container for later
Our Inspiration
Like with our vegan Pear Drops cake recipe, this cake utilises tea from our new dessert loose leaf tea range. This time, it’s our Fruit Cake tea that’s taking centre stage with this recipe for you all to follow from the comfort of your homes.
The flavours in our Fruit Cake tea are elegant and indulgent, a perfect combination for this British dessert staple. Warm spices make up a good portion of our black tea blend, with cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom working together to create a holiday inspired flavour that’s perfectly suited to welcoming in the colder seasons.
Our recipe has not one but two secret ingredients that blow all other recipes away. Of course, fruit infused with our loose leaf tea is one of our secret ingredients, but the other is a spoonful of jam!
First, the fruit. You can just use normal chopped fruits in a recipe like this, but infusing them with a liquid helps the fruit become plump and juicy. And fruit infused with our Fruit Cake tea, well, that’s just magical!
Second, the jam. A little bit of jam adds a burst of sweetness to the cake and helps contribute to the lovely light, moist texture it has when it’s cooked. Also, fruit cake with jam is just a winning combination, anyway! A little bit of fruit jam served with a slice of cake never goes amiss, especially paired with a cup of loose leaf tea.
So get the kettle boiled and prepare to delight your senses with this fruit cake loaf. P.S., to be extra-indulgent, try a slice with a spread of butter!
