My partner and I were reminiscing last night over the cakes of our childhood – all home-made of course. Shop bought cake was not within my parents budget.

Ade had said that when he was a school boy he used to visit a friend’s house and the friend’s Mum taught them both to make a cake where the fruit had been soaked in tea for a couple of hours. He thought it was lovely at the time and earlier this week he had bought a Yorkshire tea cake for £2 which he thoroughly enjoyed too.

I had never cooked a cake with the fruit soaked in tea – brandy or rum yes – but never tea! But I said I would try to find the recipe for him.

This morning my friend Google found the very recipe and so I thought I would try it out just to make sure it worked.

I soaked 500 grams of dried fruit in 400 mls of freshly brewed tea (2 tea bags).

Then I stirred in 200grams muscovado sugar, 1 egg whisked with a little vanilla essence and 250 grams of self raising flour.

Turned it into a loaf tin – be warned this makes a 2lb loaf, my tin is only half the size so i made two! Also the tin should be greased and lined but I like to use non stick foil for these things.

Bake at 175C Gas mark 4 for 1.5 hours or if cooked in two smaller tin 45 minutes each.

What a result!

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They look and smell gorgeous….

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Are perfectly cooked…..

and taste amazing – all that plump fruit – beautiful eaten warm with butter on…

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Gotta go now and put the kettle on – I know what will go down well with this – a nice cup of tea!!!