Ingredients
Fruit
- 400 gmixed dried fruit: sultanas, raisins, currants
- 100 gmixed peel
- 300 mlhot strong black tea
- 3 tbspwhiskey, optional
Batter
- 350 gself-raising flour
- or 350 g plain flour with 2 tsp baking powder
- 200 gsoft brown sugar
- 1egg, beaten
- 1 tspmixed spice
- 1 tspground cinnamon
- a pinch of salt
To glaze
- 2 tbsphoney or warmed marmalade
To serve
- sliced and buttered, with tea, at Halloween
Directions
- Soak the dried fruit overnight in hot strong black tea. That bitterness is characteristic and it stops the loaf being cloying. Use a strong ordinary black tea, brewed properly and left to go quite strong. Now the overnight point about it.
- Add the sugar to the soaked fruit and its remaining liquid and stir until dissolved. Beat in the egg, then fold in the flour and spices.
- Fold gently rather than beating hard, since overworking makes the loaf tough. The batter will be thick and heavy, which is correct. Line a large loaf tin thoroughly with baking parchment.
- Line it well rather than just greasing it, since the sugar and fruit make it stick badly. Bake at 160°C, which is lower than most cakes.
- Bake it low and slow, since the high sugar and fruit content means the outside browns long before the middle is cooked. It takes an hour to an hour and a quarter. Cover the top loosely with foil once it has browned, which is usually after about forty minutes. Now testing that the loaf is done.
- Brush the top with honey or warmed marmalade as soon as it comes out. Brushing it hot means the glaze soaks in slightly and sets to a shine as it cools. Let it cool completely in the tin before turning it out. It is fragile while warm and it firms up considerably as it cools.
- Wrap it and leave it for a day before cutting, which lets the crumb settle and the flavours mature. It keeps a week wrapped and it is arguably better on the third day. Serve it sliced fairly thin and spread thickly with butter, with a pot of tea.
Technique
- The charms are a genuine choking hazard and are best wrapped or omitted.
- Soaking the fruit overnight in tea is the whole method.
- Bake it low and slow, since the sugar browns long before it cooks through.
Substitutions
- Any strong black tea for the soak.
- Self-raising flour, or plain with baking powder.
Variations
- The older yeasted version, closer to a fruit bread.
- With whiskey in the soak.
- Made without charms, which is the safer choice.
History
Halloween fruit loaf named from bairín breac, speckled loaf; a ring baked inside foretold marriage for whoever found it.
Frequently asked questions
What is Barmbrack?
Barmbrack is a bread & pastry from Ireland: sweet fruit loaf hiding charms at Halloween. Halloween fruit loaf named from bairín breac, speckled loaf; a ring baked inside foretold marriage for whoever found it.
How long does Barmbrack take to make?
Barmbrack takes 20 min plus overnight soaking of preparation and 1 hr 15 min of cooking. The recipe makes 1 large loaf. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Barmbrack?
Yes, within limits. Any strong black tea for the soak. Self-raising flour, or plain with baking powder.
What is the most important thing to get right in Barmbrack?
Fold gently rather than beating hard, since overworking makes the loaf tough. The batter will be thick and heavy, which is correct. Line a large loaf tin thoroughly with baking parchment.
