irish barmbrack

Irish Barmbrack Tea Cake is an utterly delicious, speckled tea bread, much like Irish Freckle Bread, that&#039;s moist, tender, and perfect for teatime, snacks, or breakfast. It is an irresistible loaf that&#039;s quicker and lighter than Christmas bread and is often served in October.

Irish Barmbrack Tea Bread

fruit

brewed Irish Tea ((hot))

orange

brown sugar

all-purpose flour

baking powder

salt

pumpkin pie spice ((or mixed spice))

cinnamon

vanilla sugar

Pour hot tea over the dried fruit in a medium sized bowl. Cover and set aside to soak for at least 1 hour (or until beginning to plump).

Preheat the oven to 325℉ and lightly grease an 8 x 4 inch loaf pan (or 1lb loaf pan).

In a large bowl, mix the brown sugar, flour, baking powder, salt, pumpkin pie spice, and cinnamon. Add the dried fruit and any remaining liquid. Stir until completely combined; the batter will be very thick and stiff.

Add the egg and mix until thoroughly combined.

Spread the batter into the prepared loaf pan, hide the trinkit if using, and sprinkle optionally with a coarse sanding sugar (I&#39;m using Vanilla Sparkling Sugar).

Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out moist without large crumbs sticking.

Remove from the oven and turn it out onto a rack to cool.

Thank you for this wonderful Irish Barmbrack Tea Bread, the whole family love it. Really delicious and so moreish. I used golden raisins, dates, cranberries and prunes, which turned out to be a winner combination. Make your tea strong, using 2 or more tea bags for good flavour. Eating it slightly warmed is best.  Freezes well too.

https://mediavine-res.cloudinary.com/video/upload/t_original/v1697657296/iu3zgecexdaupbp0c1sw.mp4

Irish Barmbrack Tea Cake is an utterly delicious, speckled tea bread, much like Irish Freckle Bread, that's moist, tender, and perfect for teatime, snacks, or breakfast. It is an irresistible loaf that's quicker and lighter than Christmas bread and is often served in October.

Irish Barmbrack Tea Cake

Irish Barmbrack is a sweet yeast bread made with Irish whiskey and dried fruit and is a delicious introduction on how to make fruit bread.

Traditional Irish Barmbrack

orange peel (chopped; may substitute the zest of 1 whole orange)

lemon zest

black tea

Irish whiskey (optional)

rhubarb flavored liquor (optional)

active dry yeast

granulated sugar

milk (must be lukewarm to the touch but NOT hot)

allspice (may substitute apple pie spice

nutmeg (freshly grated/ground)

fine sea salt

unsalted butter

Steep a black tea bag (or two) in 1-cup of hot water. Let the bag steep for as long as it takes for the liquid to cool down, remove the tea bag and squeeze the liquid saturating the bag back into the cup. OPTIONAL: Add 1/3-cups of whiskey (or brandy), and up to 3 tablespoons of rhubarb-flavored liquor. Pour over the dried fruit (not the candied orange peel) and refrigerate overnight or at least 8 hours.

soak the fruit

Measure out 3/4-cups of milk and microwave until lukewarm to the touch, not hot. Stir in two teaspoons of granulated sugar and two teaspoons of active dry yeast and stir to dissolve that sugar. Allow that yeast to stand for 15 minutes while the yeast begins to bloom. You&#39;ll know when it&#39;s ready as it will be frothy and fragrant, and you may actually be able to watch it move as it blooms.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, add flour, remaining sugar, spices, and sea salt. Make a shallow well in the center and pour in the cooled melted butter, one large egg, lemon zest, and the fully bloomed yeast mixture. On medium speed, mix flour and other ingredients until a dough ball forms. Use the dough hook to knead the soft dough until everything is just combined. NOTE: if unable to source candied orange peel, go ahead and add the zest of a single large orange now as well. Candied orange peel or orange zest is integral to the flavor profile in this bread, so be sure to use one or the other.

Drain the fruit reserving the liquid. Cover with plastic film and set aside. Add the fruit to the dough and knead on low speed until the fruit is well distributed, about 1 to 2 minutes. NOTE: if you are able to source candied orange peel (also see my link in the post for purchasing), add it in along with the soaked fruit.

how to make fruit bread

Scrape down the sides of the bowl and loosely place a piece of plastic wrap or dampened clean tea towel over the top of the bowl. Turn your oven light on but leave the heat off. Place the bowl in the oven for 2 hours or until the dough has doubled in size.

first dough rise

Cut a large piece of parchment paper to fit your loaf pan. It helps to fold and make a crease where the bottom meets the sides, and it also helps to give it a good coat of baking spray once the parchment is in place.

Punch the dough down and allow it to gently roll right out of the bowl and into the loaf pan. It&#39;s heavy but as it settles, it will begin to fill in the corners. Replace the piece of loose film and place back into the oven with only the light on to allow for a second 1-hour rise or until doubled in size.

Remove the risen loaf from the oven while you preheat it to 350°F. Consider placing the loaf pan atop a parchment-lined baking sheet for ease of handling. Bake the loaf for 50 minutes center rack, turning halfway through the bake to promote even baking. Use a wooden pick to test for doneness. Pick will pull away clean.

So, there&#39;s a whole hot mess of fabulous in that bowl of drained fruit juices including whiskey. WHILE THE LOAF IS HOT grab a pastry brush and begin slowly basting the top all over. Don&#39;t miss a corner, a side...get it all and USE IT ALL. It&#39;ll take you 10 to 15 minutes for all of the basted liquid to be absorbed but you want this, TRUST ME!

Let the bread cool. Soften a stick of butter. Slice and toast and serve or simply slice and serve. And offer gobs of that softened butter. GOBS OF IT.

second dough rise

Top 2 irish barmbrack recipes from across the web

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Irish Barmbrack Tea Bread

Traditional Irish Barmbrack

Top 2 irish barmbrack recipes from across the web

The most viewed irish barmbrack recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Irish Barmbrack Tea Bread

Traditional Irish Barmbrack

The most viewed irish barmbrack recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine