Mary’s Tea Time Cake
We have finally eaten all the Christmas biscuits and the cake tin was looking rather bare, so I had a flip through one of my recipe clipping folders and came across a recipe for a Mary Berry Tea Time Cake, it’s a tea loaf packed with dried fruit and the recipe was published in BBC Good Food magazine.
I’ve made this cake before and even blogged about it, but in case you missed it the last time I thought I’d give you another chance to enjoy the recipe. I have found it to be a remarkably good recipe, works if you soak the dried fruit overnight, but also works if you soak it for a couple of hours as I did. Mary suggests Earl Grey tea for soaking, but you can use any tea you like. You can also use any combination of dried fruit you like, I had a lot of dates, so half of my loaf is dates, the rest a mix of raisins, currants and mixed dried fruit.
Mary's Tea Time Cake
An everyday cake, simple to make. Full of tea-soaked fruit, it slices beautifully and keeps well in an airtight tin or wrapped in foil.
Print Pin RatePrep Time: 2 hours
Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time: 3 hours 30 minutes
Servings: 12
Ingredients
- 350 g/12 oz mix dried fruit
- 225 g/8 oz soft light brown sugar
- 300 ml/1/2 pt hot tea made with two tea bags.
- 275 g/10 oz self-raising flour
- zest of a lemon
- 1 large egg beaten
Instructions
- Put the dried fruit and sugar in a bowl and pour over the hot tea.
- Leave to soak overnight, or if you are in a hurry for two hours.
- Heat the oven to 150C/130C fan/gas 2
- Line a 900g/2lb loaf tin with baking parchment or use a loaf tin liner
- Add the flour, lemon zest and beaten egg and stir with a spoon till mixed through.
- Bake for 11/4 to 11/2 hrs or until it is well risen, firm to the touch and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
- Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack to cool.
- Peel of the baking paper or liner and serve sliced with or without butter
Notes
By Mary Berry Adapted from BBC Good Food Magazine
More Loaf Cakes from Top UK Bloggers
Apricot Tea Bread – Farmersgirl Kitchen
Blackberry and Apple Loaf – Fab Food 4 All
Sticky Orange Marmalade Loaf Cake – Fuss Free Flavours
Yorkshire Barm Brack – Farmersgirl Kitchen
Lime, Coconut and Cardamom Loaf Cake – Tin & Thyme
Banana and Raisin Loaf – Farmergirl Kitchen
PIN FOR LATER
I’m linking up Mary’s Tea Time Cake to Bake of the Week at Casa Costello
Recipe Clippings
Mary’s Tea Time Cake is also being added to my own Recipe Clippings challenge, if you have made a recipe that you have clipped from a magazine, handwritten or printed out from the internet, you can link up here or on the linked post. Full details of the Recipe Clippings blog event
What a lovely cake – perfect for a treat with a morning coffee or an afternoon cup of tea…..or a bedtime mug of cocoa, not to mention the midnight munchies !!
It certainly is Jean.
Oh I really need to join in with your linky – Makes all those files of recipes hanging around the house seem necessary! This cake is the sort of cake I dreamed of always having in the cupboard for when guests call – 3 children later, I now realise cake doesn't ever hang around that long! Thanks for joining in with #Bakeoftheweek
It would be lovely to have you join me for #RecipeClippings Helen. My cakes last a lot longer now and sometimes I freeze some slices so I can quickly whip them out of the freezer and, at least, look like I always have cake in the house 😉
What a LOVELY post and recipe Janice! I love recipes like this, as I must try to enter your clippings challenge this month too! Karen
Thanks Karen, it would be lovely to have join me for #RecipeClippings. I'm sure you have plenty of them!
Janice, what a lovely loaf! I'd like a slice of it right this minute to go with the Earl Grey I'm drinking. I only recently saw Mary on TV for the first time (I'm in the US, plus I don't have cable, so I have to wait for shows to come out on Roku streaming) and she seemed soooo nice.
Aw Mary is a lovely lady. I met her briefly at the BBC Good Food Show when she signed a couple of books for me. You should try the cake it's really good.
Hi Janice, happy new year! Love the idea of recipe clippings, god knows I have enough of them! Great looking loaf – very solid and sustaining. Hope you're well and that spring doesn't feel too far away, Lucy
Lovely to have you visit Lucy and looking forward to you joining in with some Recipe Clippings.
This cake looks delicious . I love Mary Berry recipes they always turn out well.
Thanks Nanya, yes they do turn out well.
ah finally a blog post about cakes after all the healthy recipes , one must treat oneself now and again hehhehe, I love your recipe challenge idea too Janice , I have a large collection of clippings !
Ah well but it is low fat and full of fruit so almost healthy 😉
That looks really great, perfect for elevenses with a nice cuppa 🙂
Thanks Rachel, it's a great little cake and perfect with a cuppa
I do love these kinds of cake – just so satisfying with a cup of tea. I have to say I'm not a big fan of Mary Berry but everything of hers that I've cooked turns out brilliantly
Her recipes are pretty foolproof and my go to baking book is her Fast Cakes book.
Oooh that looks so good. I love this kind of tea cake. My grandma used to bring somethingije this out after lunch on a Sunday and serve each slice slathered in butter!! Gorgeous!
Yes, it's definitely a grandma cake -oh yes and as I am a grandmother, very appropriate!
That would be Mr Glam's favourite. He loves a fruit cake and this one sounds both delicious ad flexible. GG
Mr Glam has good taste, it freezes well too, cut in slices for quick defrost.
Looks wonderful, perfect with a cup of tea mid-morning or mid-afternoon. I wish I could take a slice for work 🙂 x
Thanks Charlene.
I love tea time cakes and like yourself have a folder of recipe clippings that I want to try, this fruit cake looks wonderful. I would love for you to stop by and share this and other recipes with us over at Sweet and Savoury Sunday. Have a great day!
I will Laura, on my way over!
This cake is called Bara Brith a good old Welsh recipe
Thanks Georgina, so many different names for a tea loaf, I also have a Yorkshire Barm Brack recipe which is also a tea loaf.
Am just making this cake. Having soaked the fruit overnight I drained off the excess tea liquid. Is this correct or do you keep all the liquid in the mix?
Hi Lyn
I leave add the liquid into the cake, but it will probably work okay anyway, it’s a very forgiving recipe.
Yes, it worked and took less time because the mix was not as wet. I added 1tspn of mixed spice as I had seen it in another recipe. Yummy!
That’s great Lyn, I’m so pleased it worked okay. Mixed spice is a great addition.