What makes this tea loaf different from any other? It’s the use of Yorkshire tea, of course! This is a traditional Yorkshire recipe that takes a bit of time to prepare, but the result is worth it. Delicious.
Ingredients
- 10 oz (280g) mixed dried fruits
- 3 oz (85g) glace cherries, halved
- 3 oz (85g) brown soft sugar
- 15 fl oz/425 ml freshly made Yorkshire tea, with two tea bags
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1 teaspoon mixed spices
- 9.5 oz (265g) self-raising flour, sieved
Method
Prepare the fruits the night before baking: measure out the boiling water into a mixing bowl, add the tea bags and leave them to stew for 5 minutes. Remove the tea bags and add the dried fruit (but not the glace cherries). Leave to soak for 12 hours or overnight. The following day the fruit should have swollen. Some tea will be left in the bowl, but that’s OK.
After the preparation time:
- Add the glace cherries, sugar, and mixed spice. Mix well.
- Add the beaten eggs and mix in well
- Fold in the sieved flour, using a wooden spoon.Stir the mixture well.
- Put the mixture into a 2lb (or two smaller) buttered loaf tin(s) lined with greaseproof paper
- Bake for 90 minutes in a pre-heated oven on a low temperature, e.g. 150c/gas mark 2
- Test with a skewer at the end of baking time – it should come out relatively clean
- Allow to cool in the tin for 20 minutes or so before you turn it out onto a cooling rack.
Source: Baker Mike, Keighley News, 2015: Baker Mike recipes
13 Responses to Yorkshire Tea Loaf
Hi
I am trying your recipe and have just soaked the fruit. Could you please tell me if I need two large or medium eggs beaten?
Many thanks
Ann-Mari
Two medium sized eggs will be OK
dark or light brown sugar
Either, the photograph shows a loaf made with light brown, but my own preference is for moist dark, as I believe it gives a better flavour.
Agreed
How runny should the mix be as I have a lot of tea left with the soaked fruit?
Suggest draining off most of the excess tea. If it has been soaked for 12+ hours it should be well-soaked into the fruit and ready for the next stage of preparation, as described in the method.
Do you refrigerate overnight?
A cool place or refrigerator would be fine.
When you say mixed spices, what did you use?
Mixed spices for baking most commonly include cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and/or mace, cloves, ginger and coriander. In the UK you can buy ready-mixed small jars of mixed spices for baking in any supermarket or grocery shop.
Is the oven temperature 150c for a fan oven
Fan ovens can be set around 20c lower than conventional ovens, so temperature can be set at 130c