Jervaulx Abbey’s Fruity Tea bread

DessertServes 8

Following on from the launch of their new cookery book In Their Footsteps: Celebrating 25 years of baking at Jervaulx Abbey, why not give this classic Tea Bread recipe from the family run business a try. As versatile as it is easy to make, this fruity treat can be adapted in many ways and is perfect smothered with butter or with a chunk of Wensleydale cheese! In Their Footsteps: Celebrating 25 years of baking at Jervaulx Abbey is available to buy now from the tea room or at amazon.co.uk  

Ingredients

6oz/170g raisins

6oz/170g dates, chopped

2oz/57g figs

2oz/57g prunes, destoned

1 mug of berry-flavoured tea

1 orange, zested

8oz/227g soft brown sugar

8oz/227g self-raising flour

1 egg, beaten

Method

  1. Soak the dried fruit in a large glass bowl overnight in the hot tea.
  2. Preheat the oven to 170°C/150°C fan oven and line a 1lb loaf tin with greaseproof paper.
  3. Add the rest of the ingredients to the fruit and mix by hand until the egg is evenly combined and no flour is surrounding the fruit.
  4. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin, using a knife to make sure the top is evenly flat. Bake for approximately 1 hour, or until a skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin completely before removing.
  5. Variations: The flavours in this tea bread can be as diverse as you like; simple changes can create a whole new taste. Different fruit teas are an easy way to do this. Our favourites are berry-flavoured teas as used above. You can also swap the figs and prunes for any of your favourites fruits, such as cranberries or apricots, as long as you keep the weight the same.