Make your cake and eat it, too: Part 1

Fruitcake (Bara Brith)

Now, dear reader, this is a fruitcake, but it is not the kind people typically eat at Christmas. Those recipes usually call for a lot of tricky-to-find ingredients - candied this, glazed that - and one usually soaks the resulting paving stone of cake in a lot of rum. Frankly, dear reader, this is the sort of recipe my mother can handle, but I am not grown up enough yet to face it. Instead, I offer you a simpler recipe that produces a snacking cake studded and sweetened with dried fruit - similar to the Christmas fruitcake, it is old-fashioned and satisfying, but much easier to pull off. This cake is called bara brith, Welsh for spotted bread, named for the plump, tea-soaked fruit that features in this loaf cake. Why did I choose this one? Well, because like a traditional fruitcake, bara brith relies on dried, re-hydrated fruit for its sweetness and texture. Plus, it’s a personal favourite. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Ingredients:

300 g mixed dried fruit (you’ll typically see raisins or currants, but I am partial to chopped apricots or cranberries, too - follow your heart here, dear reader)
200 g sugar
zest of 1 orange
250 g hot black tea (the variety is up to you - I like Earl Grey because of its bergamot oil, which combines well with the orange zest)
350 g self-rising flour
10 g mixed spice (this is equal parts cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and clove, but I measure these out with my heart, not a teaspoon. Skip the clove for a more modern flavour)
1 egg
50 g softened butter, plus extra for the cake tin

Instructions:
In a large bowl, mix together the fruit, sugar, and the orange zest. Pour the hot tea over this mixture, and allow to soak overnight.
Heat your oven to 160 C. Butter and line your cake tin with parchment.
In a large bowl, combine flour and spice thoroughly. Add the fruit mixture, including the liquid, in thirds, mixing thoroughly. Add your egg and butter, then mix until your batter is well-combined and somewhat stiff. The cake is dense, so the batter will be, too.
Bake for 60-75 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. If you notice the top begin to brown too much, cover the top with foil.
Leave the cake to cool in the tin, about 10 minutes. Then put your finished cake on a baking rack and allow to cool completely. Serve slices on their own, or with butter. Tea is not a requirement, but the two go together very well. Enjoy!