I’ve had a bit of a baking drought for the past few months. There have been minimal cakes in my life, and too many store-bought biscuits (suitably dunked in tea of course- how did I not know about this before?!). I’m finally settled into my new flat, and a bit of baking is naturally in order. There’s nothing that says home like cake-baking.
Plus, I’ve recently been introduced to the concept of fruitcake and cheese. Wait! Bear with me here. Before you decide this is clearly a terrible idea, think about fruit and cheese for a minute . . . Fruit and cheese are a classic combination that’s widely accept as delicious.
So why not fruit cake and cheese? As long as the fruitcake isn’t too sickly sweet of course. This sort of situation and combination calls for specific types of cheese, and a specific cake.
You just need to make sure you bake a Bara Brith (a sort of welsh tea cake), and find the strongest, crunchiest cheddar cheese you can find.
This cake is apparently so classically Welsh so along with recipes for leeks and Welsh Rarebit, it must be serious! The recipe is nicely straight forward, and perfect for a Sunday afternoon watching the rain race down the window, drinking marathon cups of tea.
Recipe for Bara Brith
- 450g (1lb) mixed dried fruit
- 300ml (1/2 pint) tea
- 2 tbsp marmalade
- 1 egg, beaten
- 6 tbsp soft brown sugar
- 1 tsp mixed spice
- 450g (1lb) self-raising flour
- honey to glaze
Soak the fruit overnight in the tea.
N.B. My cake only took 1 hour to cook, and used a lot less flour (these are probably related). The dough should be stiff, but not dry.
After living in America and New Zealand, Emma Wells moved to London where she began to cover life, work and travel in and around London on her blog On London Time. She shares advice for newcomers, travelers, and visitors alike. Beyond London, she writes about traveling on the cheap across Europe and around the world as well as food, books and tea.
