Happy St. Patrick's Day!
Originally posted by kodjii at Happy St. Patrick's Day!
I challenged myself with baking a treat to celebrate St. Patrick's Day.
Brack aka Irish Tea Cake.
Canon 60D, Canon EF50mm f/1.8 II, ISO: 250, 1/200
Canon 60D, Canon EF50mm f/1.8 II, ISO: 250, 1/320
Recipe, makes about 900g loaf:
330-375g fruit mix
250ml cold tea
50ml of whiskey
225g plain flour
125g light brown sugar
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1-2 teaspoon of mixed spice
1 large egg
Notes:
Spices - I used 1 tsp. of cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. of nutmeg and 1/2 tsp. of clove. But spices variety and their quantity is really up to your taste.
Fruits - I used raisins, dried cranberries and black currants, some dried apricots, lemon and orange peel and about 3/4 of fresh apple,
diced but not peeled. Again it’s up to you to mix and match those, to balance sweet and sour. But raisins I would say are must-have.
Sugar - Measure the sugar based on fruits sweetness. You can taste the liquid after you soak them, to not end up with too sweet cake as a result.
Directions:
0. Preheat oven to 340-345 f.
1. Soak fruits overnight in the cold tea and whiskey;
2. Drain the fruits and keep the liquid;
3. Combine the flour, baking powder, spices and sugar in a mixing bowl. I usually sift each one of them before;
4. Mix them well and make a well;
5. Break an egg in the well, and mix it in with the spoon;
6. Add a little bit of the fruit liquid in and mix well. Add the liquid by a little bit, because you may not need all the liquid you have. You are looking for a wet, smooth dough;
7. Add fruits and mix everything well;
8. Take a loaf tin, to fit all of the dough (mine is 9x5 inch), grease it and line with the baking paper;
9. Spoon the dough into the lined loaf tin and place into the preheated oven on the middle shelf for about 60-65 min;
10. Remove tin from the oven and let it cool a bit before removing the cake from it;
11. Let the cake cool and enjoy it with a tea and/or butter. OR: you can wrap the cake with the cling film and tin foil and let it sit for 1-2 days before eating, it will improve the flavor. But this is not my choice :)
I challenged myself with baking a treat to celebrate St. Patrick's Day.
Brack aka Irish Tea Cake.
Canon 60D, Canon EF50mm f/1.8 II, ISO: 250, 1/200
Canon 60D, Canon EF50mm f/1.8 II, ISO: 250, 1/320
Recipe, makes about 900g loaf:
330-375g fruit mix
250ml cold tea
50ml of whiskey
225g plain flour
125g light brown sugar
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1-2 teaspoon of mixed spice
1 large egg
Notes:
Spices - I used 1 tsp. of cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. of nutmeg and 1/2 tsp. of clove. But spices variety and their quantity is really up to your taste.
Fruits - I used raisins, dried cranberries and black currants, some dried apricots, lemon and orange peel and about 3/4 of fresh apple,
diced but not peeled. Again it’s up to you to mix and match those, to balance sweet and sour. But raisins I would say are must-have.
Sugar - Measure the sugar based on fruits sweetness. You can taste the liquid after you soak them, to not end up with too sweet cake as a result.
Directions:
0. Preheat oven to 340-345 f.
1. Soak fruits overnight in the cold tea and whiskey;
2. Drain the fruits and keep the liquid;
3. Combine the flour, baking powder, spices and sugar in a mixing bowl. I usually sift each one of them before;
4. Mix them well and make a well;
5. Break an egg in the well, and mix it in with the spoon;
6. Add a little bit of the fruit liquid in and mix well. Add the liquid by a little bit, because you may not need all the liquid you have. You are looking for a wet, smooth dough;
7. Add fruits and mix everything well;
8. Take a loaf tin, to fit all of the dough (mine is 9x5 inch), grease it and line with the baking paper;
9. Spoon the dough into the lined loaf tin and place into the preheated oven on the middle shelf for about 60-65 min;
10. Remove tin from the oven and let it cool a bit before removing the cake from it;
11. Let the cake cool and enjoy it with a tea and/or butter. OR: you can wrap the cake with the cling film and tin foil and let it sit for 1-2 days before eating, it will improve the flavor. But this is not my choice :)