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Bara Brith (Welsh tea bread)

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Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups dried mixed fruits, (around 400g) (raisins, apricots, dates)
  • 1 1/2 cup strong hot tea, (300 ml) (i used cardamom tea to give it more flavor)
  • 1/2 cup all purpose flour, (125g) sifted
  • 1/2 cup almond meal, (125g) sifted
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 egg
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon pumpkin spice or mixed spice
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar or muscovado sugar
  • zest of 1/2 orange (optional)

Method
 

  1. Heat the water and let the tea brew until it is really dark. Add the dried fruits to the tea, mix and let soak for an hour.
  2. Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a loaf tin with parchment paper.
  3. Using a strainer over a bowl, drain the fruits and reserve the rest of the tea.
  4. In a separate bowl, mix together the fruits, egg, and sugar (optional: add the orange zest). Add in the flour, baking powder, and spices. Add 2 tablespoons of the reserved tea and stir until everything is well combined.
  5. Place the mixture into the pre-prepared loaf tin and bake in the oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Notes

This bread gets better over time. 
You can also add some of the reserved tea to the baked loaf to make it more moist, but I did not think it was necessary.