Irish Tea Cakes

"You won't believe how simple it is to make these delicious fruit cakes! Just remember to soak the fruit the night before, ready for a couple of minutes mixing in the morning. This recipe makes two cakes - don't halve the recipe, believe me, you'll want to eat both. If not, eat one and freeze one for later. This recipe is adapted from Irish food writer, Delia Smith's, Irish Tea Bread. (Preparation time does not include soaking fruits overnight.)"
 
Download
photo by a food.com user photo by a food.com user
Ready In:
1hr 25mins
Ingredients:
11
Yields:
2 cakes
Advertisement

ingredients

Advertisement

directions

  • The day before you intend to cook this recipe, place all the fruit and the mixed peel into a large mixing bowl.
  • In a medium bowl or large heat proof jug, measure out 275ml of boiling water.
  • Jiggle the tea bag around in the water until you have a nice, strong brew.
  • Add the sugar to the hot tea and stir until sugar is dissolved.
  • Pour tea/sugar mixture over the fruit.
  • Cover and leave overnight.
  • The next day, set the oven to 170C/325°F.
  • Grease two 450g/1lb loaf tins and line the base and sides with baking paper- also known as baking parchment or silicone paper.
  • Add the chopped walnuts to the fruit mixture.
  • Break the egg into a small dish, add the milk, and beat lightly.
  • Add the egg mixture to the fruit mixture.
  • Sieve the flour into the fruit mixture then mix well, using a wooden spoon- the mixture may seem dry at first, but keep mixing and it will come together.
  • Using a large serving spoon, divide the mixture evenly between the lined loaf tins, then smooth the tops with the back of a spoon.
  • Place on the centre shelf of the oven and bake for 1 1/4- 1 1/2 hours until a skewer, pushed through the centre of the cake, comes out clean.
  • Be careful not to overcook- test after 1 1/4 hours.
  • Remove cakes from oven and turn out immediately to cool on a wire rack.
  • Serve warm or at room temperature, sliced and buttered.

Questions & Replies

Got a question? Share it with the community!
Advertisement

Reviews

Have any thoughts about this recipe? Share it with the community!
Advertisement

RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

<p>Above: Slideshow of our garden at Avalon Slideshow of our recent holiday at Woodgate Beach, South-East Queensland, Australia. Hi! I'm Kookaburra, from Australia. First, a promise. I will only post recipes on this site which I've made myself and to which I would personally give a 5 star rating - what you give them is up to you ;-) I look forward to receiving your feedback. If you look at my reviews, they're all 5 stars. That doesn't mean I give 5 stars to every recipe I try. I'm just not interested in giving poor ratings to anyone else's recipe because I accept that different people have different tastes. So, I've decided that I'll only review those recipes which I really love and which I'd make again and recommend to friends. If a recipe meets that criteria - even if it needs a bit of 'tweaking' to match my tastes, I'll give it 5 stars. If not, I'll just delete it from my recipe book and no hard feelings. I'm not advocating this as the 'right' approach. I just decided I needed a consistent strategy for rating and this is mine. I'm passionate about cooking - and eating! What I look for in food is something that 'zings' in the mouth. I like lots of taste - I'm not a big fan of subtlety. I don't often cook recipes exactly as written. I like to experiment and adapt things to my own taste. A retired marketing executive and academic, I live with my elderly (but thoroughly modern) mother in a tiny mountain village at the edge of the rainforest. I'm female, happily single, in my mid-40s and boast the Rubenesque figure of a passionate cook! Avalon, our 'story-book' cottage, overlooks a small lake. As I sit at my computer or work in the kitchen, I'm serenaded by a cacophany of native birds - including a very fat family of kookaburras! We have quite a large property and are lucky to have vegetable gardens and a variety of fruit and nut trees. I look forward to sharing recipes on Recipezaar with family, friends and friends I've yet to meet. last minute flight</p>
 
View Full Profile
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Find More Recipes