A simple and popular Welsh cake. easy to make and keeps well. If you can resist eating it that is! Remember to soak the fruit the night before.
Welsh language for beginners: Bara means bread, and brith means speckled. So, Bara Brith means speckled bread. 'Os gwelwch yn dda' is 'if you please'. With your new linguistic abilities you can go into any bakery in Wales and order this national classic. The name Bara Brith was originally used in north Wales only. In the south, the name Teisen Dorth was used (teisen means cake, and dorth/torth is loaf). Bara Brith is eaten throughout Wales and is readily available from tea-rooms, cake-shops and food markets. I lived in south Wales for a few years, so have sampled one or two in my time! Although Bara Brith is referred to as a cake, it is, as its name suggests, a bread. In the days before baking powder and other chemical raising agents most 'cakes' were in fact fruited breads. In this instance the bread is 'speckled' with currants, sultanas and dried peel. My recipe comes from a book called 'Welsh Country Cooking', by Chris Grant. This book record recipes handed down from the author's great-grandmother to grandmother to mother. I was a bit put off by the idea of including lard, but for authenticity used this instead of butter. When I weighed it out I realised that most cakes I make use a much greater weight of butter, so 20g of lard is not such a big deal. Maybe it's just the word I don't like - lard - say it aloud and clearly it is a substance that is heavy, joyless and cholesterol inducing. Makes one large loaf (900g/2 lb tin): 275g strong white (bread making) flour 1 level teaspoon salt 20g lard 25g sugar (I used golden caster) 1/2 teaspoon of mixed spice (I didn't have a jar of mixed spice, so used allspice) 1 large beaten egg 1/4 pint/150ml warm water 20g fresh yeast (I used a 7g packet of dried yeast) 225g currants 125g sultanas 25g mixed peel 1. Grease your loaf tin. 2. Sieve flour and salt into large mixing bowl, add the dried yeast if using. Rub in the lard with your fingertips. Make a well in the centre. 3. Mix the sugar and spice together and put into the well. 4. Add the beaten egg to the warm water. If you are using fresh yeast use 3 tablespoons of this mixture to mix the yeast to a thin paste, before adding the remainder of the liquid. 5. Pour the egg and water (and yeast) mixture over the sugar in the well. Mix the dry ingredient in with the liquid, then knead to form a smooth, elastic dough. 6. Mix your fruit in with the dough. (I had soaked my fruit overnight in tea to plump it up, and although I had drained it well mixing in wet fruit was a bit of a messy challenge. I had to use extra flour to lessen the stickiness of the dough.) 7. Put your dough into the loaf tin (or you can make a free-form loaf on a baking sheet), cover and leave to rise for 1 1/2 hours. 8. Preheat oven to 180C/350F/Gas mark 4. 9. Bake for 30/35 minutes, covering top with a foil hat after about 20 minutes. Loaf is done when underside sounds hollow when tapped (I just guess, as I have problems turning a piping hot loaf out of a tin). This cake/bread gave off spicy and delicious smells whilst baking, and whilst cooling on a baking rack scented the rest of my flat with the same hunger inducing scents. Please only bake this after eating. Fortunately my guess that the loaf had cooked fully was correct, and after waiting an age for it to cool it was ready for photography and sampling. The loaf had a good weight, and felt moist rather than dry like a unfruited loaf. The slices cut neatly without the loaf crumbling away, demonstrating a good firmness. The crust on the top of the loaf was thin (rather than crusty) due to the fact that I covered the top up part of the way through the baking time. I have made fruit breads in the past and not shielded the top, ending up with a scorched crust with embedded charred currants - not so good. The Bara Brith was delicious, and didn't really need the addition of butter, however the butter currently in my fridge is Welsh so it seemed to make sense use it. Blasus!
Have you heard of Bara Brith, the specked bread from Wales? This spiced, tea-soaked quick bread is perfect for tea, breakfast, snacks, or the holidays
"Bara Brith" literally means "speckled bread." Baked and sold commercially in most parts of Wales, virtually every region, town, and family seems to have its own special version of this recipe.
Have you heard of Bara Brith, the specked bread from Wales? This spiced, tea-soaked quick bread is perfect for tea, breakfast, snacks, or the holidays
A traditional recipe for Bara Brith, which translates as "speckled bread" in Welsh. This recipe makes a large, rich Bara Brith tea loaf, but is made with SR flour and not yeast, so it can be made very quickly and easily. However, you do need to allow time to soak the fruit overnight, but after that, it's a very simple "all in one" recipe for this beautiful Welsh tea loaf.
Bara Brith or Speckled bread of Wales is Tea Cake where dry fruits are soaked in brewed tea. It is a great alcohol free Nut free Christmas Fruit Cake.
Have you heard of Bara Brith, the specked bread from Wales? This spiced, tea-soaked quick bread is perfect for tea, breakfast, snacks, or the holidays
Bara Brith or Speckled bread of Wales is Tea Cake where dry fruits are soaked in brewed tea. It is a great alcohol free Nut free Christmas Fruit Cake.
A Welsh fruit bread loaf usually filled with dried raisins or currants and candied peel, hence often referred to as "speckled" bread. This is a traditional recipe by Chef Bryn Williams, which he refers to as his Nain's Bara Brith. (Source: 'Bryn's Kitchen' by Bryn Williams). Makes one loaf in a 7 1/4 in (length) X 4 in (width) x 4.5 in (height).
A Welsh fruit bread loaf usually filled with dried raisins or currants and candied peel, hence often referred to as "speckled" bread. This is a traditional recipe by Chef Bryn Williams, which he refers to as his Nain's Bara Brith. (Source: 'Bryn's Kitchen' by Bryn Williams). Makes one loaf in a 7 1/4 in (length) X 4 in (width) x 4.5 in (height).
When I saw this lovely loaf cake on Sam’s blog I knew I had to make it. The recipe comes from the North Wales Tourism website so it must be authentic; I stress that because I thought Bara brith always contained yeast and this, clearly, doesn’t. I can’t ever think about Wales now without “Gavin and Stacey” coming to mind. It is one of my favourite comedies of recent times and I was trying to think how the Welsh characters would describe this cake. Stacey would definitely call it “lush” whereas my favourite character, Nessa, would probably go for a more measured, “tidy”. There’s something enticing and comforting about a fruity slice of cake spread with creamy, rich, yellow butter. As to how much butter – a friend of mine described this perfectly when she said “butter must be thick enough so you can leave teeth marks in it”. I couldn’t put it any better: The most fun part of this recipe is soaking the fruit. Whether in tea (as for this recipe) or spirits (Christmas cake) I can never resist peeking in the pot to see how much of the liquid has been absorbed. The fruit turns glossy and plump – it’s practically botox for dried fruit! I think there’s no point blogging if you’re not going to be honest and, the whole time I was baking this cake, I truly believed it would end up in the bin. So much so that as soon as it came out of the oven I started to bake a back-up cake! My first mistake was doubling the quantities to make two loaves – have you tried mixing that much fruit into a tiny amount of cake? Let’s just say that I now feel fully prepared to enter the next arm wrestling contest I come across. My second concern was that the mix was so dry; I added some milk until it at least started to look like a cake mix although milk was not included in the source recipe. When the loaves came out of the oven they looked nobbly, hard and dry so I thought I should cut a slice to see what the inside was like. At this point they were still definitely heading for the bin. The cut slice started to comfort me – the crust which formed during baking was just a crust and the inside was moist and fruity. I tasted it and was underwhelmed. Still heading for the bin. But something made me butter it and try it how it is meant to be eaten. Please now imagine the Hallelujah chorus playing at full volume in my kitchen because it was delicious! It so needs the butter (salted) to bring all the flavour and texture alive. It’s heavenly! Ingredients 450g mixed dried fruit – I used a mix of sultanas, raisins, currants, and blueberries 300ml tea – make as usual but don’t add the milk! 2 tablespoons marmalade 1 egg 6 tablespoons soft brown sugar 1 teaspoon mixed spice – I put a little extra as I like it spicy! 450g self raising flour Milk as necessary To glaze: honey Salted butter to serve Method Start by soaking the fruit for 24 hours. Place all the fruit in a bowl and cover with the tea. Stir when you happen to walk past! Preheat the oven to 170˚C/fan oven 150˚C/325˚F/Gas mark 3 Line a 900g loaf tin with baking paper – this will help you to get the loaf out of the tin. Mix the marmalade, egg, sugar, spice and flour into the bowl containing the fruit and tea. Spoon into the loaf tin and level the surface. Bake for approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes or until a skewer, inserted into the centre of the loaf, comes out clean. After about an hour of baking check that the loaf isn’t browning too much – if it is, either move it down a shelf in the oven or loosely cover the top with foil. Leave to stand in the tin on a wire rack for 10 minutes then turn out onto the wire rack. Use a pastry brush to cover the top of the loaf with honey. As the loaf is so warm, the honey will melt and become easy to work with. The cake will keep for several days in an airtight tin. Serve in slices, thickly buttered. Bask in the glory of the wonderful thing you have created. Eat.
Bara Brith - a Traditional Welsh Tea / Fruit Bread: A traditional Welsh fruit loaf made with tea. Bara Brith, which translates to 'speckled bread’ or 'mottled bread', is made all over Wales and is usually served with a salted butter, but can be eaten without There are many variations of this tradit…
Have you heard of Bara Brith, the specked bread from Wales? This spiced, tea-soaked quick bread is perfect for tea, breakfast, snacks, or the holidays
This delightful Mary Berry Bara Brith is prepared using Assam black tea, mixed dried fruits, candied orange peel, dark brown sugar, and all-purpose flour. This flavorful Bara Brith recipe is a wonderful tea loaf that takes about 1 hour and 15 minutes to prepare and can serve up to 10 people.
Bara Brith or Speckled bread of Wales is Tea Cake where dry fruits are soaked in brewed tea. It is a great alcohol free Nut free Christmas Fruit Cake.
A traditional recipe for Bara Brith, which translates as "speckled bread" in Welsh. This recipe makes a large, rich Bara Brith tea loaf, but is made with SR flour and not yeast, so it can be made very quickly and easily. However, you do need to allow time to soak the fruit overnight, but after that, it's a very simple "all in one" recipe for this beautiful Welsh tea loaf.
This delightful Mary Berry Bara Brith is prepared using Assam black tea, mixed dried fruits, candied orange peel, dark brown sugar, and all-purpose flour. This flavorful Bara Brith recipe is a wonderful tea loaf that takes about 1 hour and 15 minutes to prepare and can serve up to 10 people.