Irish Barmbrack Loaf

Course: Brunch, Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: Irish

Prep Time: 20

Cook Time: 40

Total Time: 1

Servings: slices

Calories: 209kcal

Author: Lord Byron's Kitchen

Best served with tea as an afternoon snack, Irish Barmbrack Loaf is prepared with dried fruit that has been soaked in strong, hot tea. Super moist and flavourful, this loaf is inspired by traditional barmbrack bread.

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Ingredients

2 cups chopped dried fruit (apricots, raisins, currants, cranberries, etc.)
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup tea, very strong and hot
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
2 large eggs

Instructions

Add the chopped dried fruit to a mixing bowl. Into the same bowl, add the softened butter, salt, baking soda, and brown sugar. Set aside.
Prepare one cup of strong, hot tea. Pour it into the bowl with the chopped dried fruit. Use a spoon to stir to combine. Set that aside to cool for fifteen minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, allspice, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger. Set aside.
In a separate, small bowl, whisk the two eggs. Set aside.
Once the dried fruit and tea mixture has cooled for fifteen minutes, stir in the vanilla extract.
Pour the tea mixture into the bowl with the flour. Add in the whisked eggs. With a rubber spatula, fold the ingredients together to form a batter. Set aside.
Lightly coat a loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray. Depending on the size of your loaf pan, you might have more batter than you need. Do not fill the loaf pan more than 3/4 full with the batter. This recipe will require at least a 6 cup loaf pan.
Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf pan.
Bake for 30-35 minutes or until your loaf is baked through. Be sure to test to see if the loaf is baked by inserting a clean wooden toothpick into the center of the loaf. If the toothpick comes out clean, the loaf is done and can be removed from the oven. Otherwise, bake for five minutes longer and perform the toothpick test again.
Once baked, remove from the oven and place onto a wire cooling rack. Allow the loaf to rest for fifteen minutes before turning it out of the loaf pan. Continue to cool on the cooling rack. When ready to slice, garnish with a dusting of confectioner’s sugar. Enjoy!

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