LOAF CAKES - TEA LOAF WITH EARL GREY AND ORANGE + FENNEL SEED LEMON DRIZZLE
A squidgy, fruit laden granny cake that I'm bringing back to your home kitchen and a much loved zingy classic.
Hi folks,
Welcome back to The Good Home Cook.
I’m a little earlier than usual, but I wanted to get you this weeks newsletter with enough time to get your ingredients and bake these comforting loaf cakes over the weekend.
First up i’ve got a Tea loaf. Now this really is a recipe that everyone should have in their repertoire. Firstly because it’s so unbelievably simple to make and failsafe and because it is really delicious and keeps exceptionally well.
This very quintessential Yorkshire, tea time treat is a classic for a reason. Sure, when you think of tea loaf you might think of dusty, National Trust stately homes but you need to stop because frankly, thats not the loaves fault. This loaf is squidgy, rich and lightly spiced and if you’ve not tried it before you may as well because it literally is a case of bunging the ingredients in a bowl and mixing everything together. Its also great a few days later and actually develops in flavour. Try a slice toasted - pure comfort.
I’ve also got a very delicious lemon drizzle with fennel seeds for my paid subs. One of my favourite cakes, if you're not familiar with it (i’m sure you are), it’s a light lemon sponge draped in a crunchy, zingy lemon topping. I absolutely love fennel seeds in a sweet context. They work particularly well with citrus fruits and bring a liquorice sweetness to this bake thats unbeatable.
Thanks for sticking around!
See you next week x
Lining a loaf tin
Grease the base and sides of the tin with a little butter or oil. Lay the tin on a large piece of greaseproof paper and cut a wide strip, a little smaller than the widest part of the loaf tin. Lay this into the tin so it covers the base, wider sides and overhangs by about 5cm. This way when your cake is cooked its easy for you to lift the cake out of the tin.
Measuring a loaf tin
The best way to measure your loaf tin is to fill it with water - for instance if the recipe calls for a 1 litre loaf tin, set the tin on a set of digital scales, pour in the water. 1 litre of water should almost fill the tin leaving a few centimetres at the top.
Earl Grey and Orange tea loaf
Tea loaf doesn’t have any fat in the mix and by fat I mean butter or oil. So I would suggest eating this as you would malt loaf or toast - with a smear of salty butter.
PREP 10 MINS PLUS OVERNIGHT SOAKING COOK 1 HOUR 25 MINS Serves 8-10
175g sultanas
175g raisins
4 early grey tea bags
300ml boiling water
1 orange, zested
2 medium eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 tsp salt
250g self-raising flour
1 tsp mixed spice
200g soft brown sugar
Tip the dried fruit into a large bowl. Add the tea bags, boiling water and orange zest. Cover and leave the fruit to steep in the tea for at least 6 hours or overnight.
Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan. Grease and line a 1 litre loaf tin. Add all the remaining ingredients to the bowl then stir everything together until just combined - try not to over mix, just stop when everything is visibly combined. Spoon into your prepared tin and bake for 1 hour 25 mins or until a skewer comes out clean.
Leave the loaf to cool in the tin for 10 mins before transferring to a wire rack to cool down completely. Wrap and store in a cool, dry place for up to a week. Alternatively, freeze the slices then toast when ready to eat.
Other flavours
Other teas work well in this bake, Lady Grey is delicious as is Assam.
For a chai spiced version soak the fruit in Assam then omit the mixed spice for the crushed seeds of 7 cardamom pods, 1 tsp cinnamon and 1/4 of a nutmeg, finely grated.
Lemon and fennel seed drizzle cake
PREP 20 MINS COOK 50 mins SERVES 8-10
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