← Nouns Cooking · British & Irish

Ingredients

• 375 g mixed dried fruit (raisins, sultanas, currants)
• 50 g Mixed candied peel
• 300 ml hot, strong black tea
• 2 tbsp Irish whiskey (optional)
• 150 g light soft brown or demerara sugar
• 1 orange, zested
• 1 Eggs, beaten
• 275 g Self-raising flour
• 1 tsp Mixed spice
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tbsp runny honey, to glaze (optional)

Method

1. Put the dried fruit and mixed peel in a bowl, pour over the hot tea (and the whiskey, if using), cover and leave to soak overnight so the fruit plumps up.
2. Heat the oven to 170°C (150°C fan, 340°F). Grease and line a 900 g loaf tin.
3. Stir the sugar, orange zest and egg into the fruit and its liquid. Sift in the flour and spices and fold together until no dry flour remains. Push a wrapped ring into the batter, if you like.
4. Scrape into the tin and level the top. Bake for 1 hour 10 min, until risen and a skewer pushed into the centre comes out clean. Cover with foil if it browns too fast.
5. Brush the top with warm honey while still hot, then cool in the tin for 15 min before turning out onto a rack. Serve sliced and buttered.

Tips

• It keeps for a week wrapped in foil and is lovely toasted once it starts to firm up.
• The whiskey is optional and does not fully cook off in a loaf, so leave it out for children. Contains egg and gluten.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

BBC Food Great British Chefs Great British Chefs