CHRISTMAS TEA BREAD
Christmas Tea Bread is a quick and easy alternate to a Christmas Cake. Enjoy it for breakfast, teatime or even as a dessert.
Ingredients
- 1 cup black tea cold
- 1¼ cups dried fruit cranberries, raisins, sultanas, blueberries, mixed peel etc
- 1½ cup wheat flour
- ⅓ - ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda soda bicarbonate
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 large egg beaten
- 2 tbsp orange marmalade
- 1 tsp mixed spice or tea masala
Instructions
- Soak the dried fruit in the black tea overnight or till the fruit plumps up.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C.
- Sift or sieve flour, spice mixture, baking powder, soda bicarbonate and salt together.
- In a mixing bowl,add marmalade, beaten egg and sugar.
- Whisk it well.
- Add the soaked fruit and remaining tea. Mix well.
- Add the flour mixture. Mix till the flour becomes wet.
- Grease a loaf tin (9X5 inches). Dust it with some flour.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared tin.
- Bake the bread for 1 hr or till it is done. Insert a toothpick or a fork into the middle of the cake. If it comes out clean, then the bread is ready.
- Allow the bread to cool in the tin for 10 minutes. Remove the bread from the tin and let it cool for a while on a wire rack.
- Slice the bread and serve with some butter, marmalade, honey or on its own.
Notes
- Take any dried fruit you like but the total amount should be about 1¼ cups.
- Ready made tea masala is readily available in most supermarkets and Indian grocery stores.
- If you're in a hurry, soak the fruit in hot black tea for 1 hour.