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.
Afternoon tea
Being British means I drink a lot of tea. I also love a little treat to go with it. A hot cup of tea feels comforting on its own, but something sweet makes it even better. That’s how this fruity tea cake came to be.
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
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.
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.