Welsh Bara Brith Tea Cake with bubble sugar (⊙.☉)7

(・・。)ゞ ….. that was my exact reaction when the husband requested for me to bake this for him…. “what? what birth?”

after researching for a bit, i realised it was really but a bread speckled with fruits…. i thought it resembled a fruit cake though..

Recipe adapted from  Honest Cooking

Ingredients

450 g / 2 ½ cups dried fruit (I used raisins and cranberries, but currants and even dates work wonderfully)
400 ml /1 ¾ cups brewed black tea
225 g / 2 cups self-raising flour (white)
225 g / 2 cups plain wholemeal flour
175 g / ¾ cup unrefined sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 ½ tsp mixed spice (or ½ tsp cinnamon, ½ tsp allspice, pinch of ground clove and a pinch of ground ginger)
½ tsp salt
1 egg
2 Tbsp marmalade or jam (I used low-sugar apricot jam)

Directions

– Night Before: Set the fruit to soak in the tea overnight
– Baking Day: Preheat oven to 175 C / 325 F and grease and line two loaf pans (one large and one small, or else three small)
– In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flours, then add the other dry ingredients and mix.
– Beat the egg and add it to the mixture, along with the jam and fruit (with remaining tea) and stir until just mixed.
– Divide into loaf pans and bake for 1 hour (or until a skewer poked in center comes out clean). (Check the smaller loaves at 45 minutes.)
– Cool in pans for 15 minutes, then gently turn them out and cool completely before storing in an airtight container (or wrap)

Personal notes:

– i halved the recipe and made 6 jumbo tea cakes (in muffin pan. i did not line the pans and merely greased and floured them)
– my tea cakes were baked for 23 minutes
– cake has been frosted with chocolate ganache and broken pieces of bubble sugar. You can refer to this link for a photo tutorial on making bubble sugar. The instructions did not specify how big a rimmed baking pan you should use to contain the sugar syrup, but do use the biggest one you have in the house. my largest pan is a 30 x 30cm pan and i still found it too small…. and oh! if you do not have a candy thermometer like me, just let the sugar solution cook for about 15 mins. mine was done in 14 mins… do give it a swirl so the amber colour does not concentrate on one spot

so here you go… a really simple but gorgeous afternoon tea cake is ready to be served -(๑☆‿ ☆#)ᕗ

Pollution index: 324 (hazardous!!!!!!)