Fruity Tea Cake
Fruity tea cake is the perfect accompaniment to a nice hot cup of tea. Dried fruit is soaked in tea with fresh orange zest then added to a simple cake batter and baked to perfection.
Being British means I drink a lot of tea, but I always love a treat to go with it. There is a sense of comfort when you sip on a nice hot cup of tea, but it’s always nice to have a little treat with it. That leads me to tell you about how the fruity tea cake came about…
Since my husband and I work from home, I have got him joining me for a cup of tea in the afternoons. While enjoying the tea he would always say to me that we need a nice slice or 2 of cake to go with the tea. Enter the fruity tea cake.
A mixture of dried fruit (I used cherries, blueberries and apricot for color) is soaked in black tea and fresh orange zest. They are then mixed into an easy cake mix with orange juice for a fresh flavor then baked. It could not be easier to for a delicious and flavorful cake.
Another British favorite to enjoy with tea are classic English Scones. Simply served with cream and jam.
Fruity Tea Cake
Dried fruit is soaked in tea with fresh orange zest then added to a simple cake batter and baked to perfection.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (236 ml) black tea, cooled
- 8 ounces (226 grams) dried fruit
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- ¼ cup (32 grams) unsalted butter, softened plus more for greasing
- 1/3 cup (66 grams) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon orange juice
- 1 cup (150 grams) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
- Pour the tea over the fruit and orange zest, cover and allow to soak for at least 4 hours to overnight.
- Preheat oven to 350°F/176°C with the rack in the center.
- Use the butter to grease a 9 x 5-inch (23 x 13 cm) loaf pan and line with parchment paper.
- Cream the butter and sugar together using a hand or stand mixer. Beat in the eggs one at a time, add the orange juice, then slowly add the flour.
- Fold in the fruit (and any tea that has not been absorbed by the fruit.
- Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 40 minutes until browned and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center.
- Allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
Nutrition Information
Yield
6Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 305Total Fat 10gSaturated Fat 5gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 4gCholesterol 82mgSodium 406mgCarbohydrates 52gFiber 4gSugar 30gProtein 5g
17 Comments on “Fruity Tea Cake”
Going to make tomorrow for Monday craft day with the girls. I will put a powdered sugar orange juice glaze over it to sweeten it up since we’re not having hot tea. Well, I might……just because.
Enjoy. The glaze sounds delicious.
It turned out really moist. Used mango, apricot and pecans. Added cinnamon also into the glaze with fresh OJ squeeze and milk….
TYK..
Ms Marigold
I’m so glad you enjoyed it
I can’t wait to try this. What size loaf pan?
I use a standard 9 x 5 inch loaf pan. Let me know if you have any more questions, enjoy.
I am a british tea-holic i have to have like 10 tea times a day to keep me awake and happy is that bad? but i love you british recipes every one of them thank you so much .
Thank you so much 🙂
You can never have enough tea 🙂
I always enjoy your British recipes, Janette, and this is no exception.
Great cake, and what a good idea to decorate your own tins. I never would have thought of that. What kind of markers do you use?
Thank you Helen, I actually enjoyed decorating the tea tins. The markers are just regular ones from the craft shop.
I agree with the others and it’s just a genius idea to soak the fruit in tea. A perfect partner to a hot cup of your favorite flavor. I love it, looks so easy to bake! 🙂 #client
I actually made a similar tea bread just last last week! I love them, but they’re just not a “thing” here in the US. Glad to see you posting this and sharing more “tea love”!
I wonder what it would be like to soak the fruit in a fruit tea? My favorite Bigelow tea is Black Current! Going to try this!
What a great idea, to soak the fruit in tea, before incorporating into your bread! Love it.
I love tea and it is always better with a fruity bread. They seem to go together!
I’m such a devoted tea drinker, but I’ve never thought to soak dried fruit in tea. What a great idea! I would love a slice of this with a warm cup at the end of a long day.