Best Welsh Raisin Date Nut Cake Bara Brith Recipes

WELSH CURRANT RAISIN BREAD BARA BRITH (MADE WITH YEAST)

Steps:

• Put 8 cups of the flour in a mixing bowl and let it stand in a warm place for a short while. Rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles meal, add the currants, raisins candied fruit peel, nutmeg or allspice, salt and all of the brown sugar but 1 teaspoon of the brown sugar. Mix thoroughly.
• In a smaller bowl cream the fresh yeast with the 1 teaspoons of brown sugar and blend the yeast mixture with the milk.
• Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, pour the yeast mixture into it and sprinkle a little additional flour over the yeast mixture. Cover the dough and let it stand in a warm place for a few minutes, until it is just beginning to rise. Pour the beaten eggs into the bowl and proceed to knead gradually adding the 1 1/2 cups tepid water mixed with the molasses. This should be a soft dough. Knead about 10 minutes.
• Cover the bowl with a cloth and let the dough rise in a warm place for 1 1/2 hours, or until it has doubled in bulk. Then turn the dough out onto a well floured board, divide it in half and put it into two well buttered 8 1/2 by 4 1/2 inch loaf pans. Let the loaves rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes, or until they have nearly risen to the rims of the pans.
• Bake the loaves in a preheated 350°F oven for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, so that the tops are browned and loaves sound hollow when rapped.
• Welsh Fare S. Minwel Tibbott.

BARA BRITH.

Steps:

• Place the fruit and sugar in a mixing bowl, and soak overnight in the strained tea.
• Sieve the flour and mixed spice, and warm the marmalade.
• Add the flour, warm marmalade and egg to the soaked fruit.
• Mix well, pour the mixture into a greased loaf tin.
• Bake for 1 1/2 hours on 180c, 350f.
• Cool on wire rack.
• Serve sliced and buttered.

TRADITIONAL WELSH BARA BRITH

Steps:

• This is Wales' traditional rich fruit bread.
• South Wales makes it with baking powder; Northerners prefer yeast as the raising agent. Either way it's delicious.
• Soak the dried fruit and sugar overnight in the tea.
• You can use either fresh tea, or the cold dregs from the teapot (this gives a good strong colour). Next day, sieve the flour and fold it it into the fruit. Mix in the lightly beaten egg.
• Line a small loaf-tin with buttered paper then tip in the mixture, smoothing it well into the corners.
• Bake in a gentle oven at 300 F (150 C) for 1-1/2 hours.
• Cool and store for at least 2 days in a tin so that it matures moist and rich.
• Traditionalists say you should never butter the Bara Brith, but it's lovely that way!

BARA BRITH - WALES

Steps:

• Put the fruit in a large basin with the sugar, and just cover with warm strained tea. Leave overnight.
• Next day, add to the fruit mixture the marmalade, cinnamon, the beaten egg and flour. Mix well together until you have a nice, slack mixture.
• Bake in a loaf tin, greased and lined with buttered paper. Bake at 325F for 1 1/2 hours.
• Preparation time is overnight soaking, plus 10 minutes active preparation the following day.
• You can get interesting flavours by choosing unusual teas.