Honey Tea Bread.

I am about to embark on another summer of lodge cooking in Scotland to fund my university education, as such I am researching and trialling new recipes. Lodge food tends to be rather traditional so I don't get much scope to work with but it is always fun trying new things. I also work for a catering company who do amazing canapes, I wish I had more time to make fun canapes. Anyhow back to my next recipe. Honey Tea Bread I have been reading about these on various different blogs. I like loaf cakes as they don't seem to go off as quickly as a standard sponge. When they do start to go stale simply pop a slice into the toaster and add butter, it never fails. This particular recipe appealed to me as there is no refined sugar only honey, no fat and it is also made with whole-wheat flour rather than white.


Ingredients:

225g (8oz) raisins
75g (3oz) set honey
300ml (½pt) freshly made strong tea
2 eggs, medium eggs, lightly beaten
275g (10oz) whole-wheat flour
2.5ml (½tsp)ground mixed spice
15ml (1tbsp) baking powder

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 180C in a  2 door Aga this is on the grid in the bottom of the roasting oven with a cold shelf. Place the raisins in a bowl. Stir the honey into the tea and pour this over raisins. Leave to soak for 2 hours. Stir the eggs into the raisin mixture.

Mix the flour with the spice and baking powder then mix these dry ingredients into the raisin mixture. Transfer to a greased 900g (2lb) loaf tin and bake for about 1 hour 10 minutes. Mine slightly caught around the edges and I also cooked it for 20minutes less than the recipe required. If you are cooking in an aga I would suggest 30minutes in the roasting oven and then move it down to the simmering oven until it is cooked. It does look like you have burned it but as it is whole-wheat flour it is naturally much darker in colour.


This cake also keeps for about a week before going stale.