SUGAR-CRUSTED BARA BRITH

Sugar-crusted bara brith image

Bara brith (literally 'speckled bread') is a tea-time classic, and it seems that almost every Welsh town and every family has their own recipe

Provided by Jane Hornby

Time 1h30m

Number Of Ingredients 11

Ingredients

400g/14oz luxury mixed fruit
75g pack dried cranberries
mug hot strong black tea
100g butter , plus extra for greasing
2 heaped tbsp orange marmalade
2 eggs , beaten
450g self-raising flour - try a mix of wholemeal and white
175g light soft brown sugar
1 tsp each ground cinnamon and ground ginger
4 tbsp milk
50g crushed sugar cubes or granulated sugar, to decorate

Steps:

Mix together the dried fruit and cranberries in a large bowl, then pour the hot tea over. Cover with cling film and leave to soak overnight.
Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Butter and line the bottom of a 900g/2lb loaf tin with baking parchment. Melt butter and marmalade together in a pan. Leave to cool for 5 mins, then beat in the eggs. Drain any excess tea from the fruit. Mix the flour, sugar and spices together, then stir in the fruit, butter mix and milk until evenly combined. The batter should softly drop from the spoon - add more milk if needed.
Spoon into the tin and level the top. Sprinkle with the crushed sugar and bake for 1-1¼ hrs until dark golden and a skewer inserted comes out clean. Cover loosely with foil if it starts to over-colour before the middle is cooked. Leave to cool completely in the tin and serve sliced.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 397 calories, Fat 9 grams fat, SaturatedFat 5 grams saturated fat, Carbohydrate 79 grams carbohydrates, Sugar 50 grams sugar, Fiber 2 grams fiber, Protein 6 grams protein, Sodium 0.58 milligram of sodium