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Tea bread is a very British type of simple fat-free fruit cake. It’s not as sweet as most fruit bakes, but it is more of a loaf cake than a bread as it doesn’t contain yeast. Dried fruit are soaked and plumped up in black tea. This recipe is super easy to make and very tasty, especially when spread with butter.

Slice of simple tea bread spread with salted butter.

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When I have lots of bits and pieces of dried fruit taking up valuable space in the cupboard, this simple tea bread loaf is one of my go-to recipes. It’s a perfect incentive to have a good clear-out. It’s easy to make and you can put just about any type of dried fruit in it, though vine fruit is traditional.

Why Make A Tea Bread Loaf?

There are many reasons to make this tea bread loaf. Not least of which it’s tasty and easy to make. But if you need convincing here are some other justifications for making this simple afternoon tea cake.

Delicious With Tea – Tea bread is traditionally served with a cup of tea, usually in the afternoon. It’s pretty much a must have for any British afternoon tea spread. Best served with salted butter and possibly a slice of cheese.
Great for Gifting – Tea bread makes a lovely homemade gift. It lasts for ages, so time pressure is less of an issue. All you need to do is wrap it in parchment paper and tie it up with a ribbon.
Healthier Option – My tea bread is made with wholemeal flour, which provides more fibre and nutrients compared to refined white flour. It also contains less added sugar than similar bakes and no additional fats other than an egg. This makes it a healthier choice for those who enjoy a slab of cake from time to time.
Make It Your Own – Although vine fruit is traditional, you can experiment with other types of dried fruit. I tend to use whatever I have to hand. You can also try different types of tea. Such a flexible recipe means you can create your own perfect loaf.
Moist and Chewy Texture – The process of soaking dried fruit in tea not only enhances the flavour but also ensures the bread has a moist and slightly chewy texture.
Natural Sweetness – The dried fruit in the tea bread adds natural sweetness, which means you can enjoy a deliciously sweet flavour without relying heavily on added sugars. This makes it a good option if you’re trying to reduce your sugar intake.
Simple Ingredients – The recipe uses simple, pantry-staple ingredients. This makes it easy to whip up without planning a shopping trip. It’s a great way to use up any leftover dried fruits. And tea, come to that.
Super Easy To Make – This tea bread is one of the easiest cakes to make, even for novice bakers. As long as you take into account the time the fruit needs to soak, hands on time is minimal.

Simple Tea Bread

Whether you call it Welsh bara brith, Irish barmbrack or simply English tea loaf, this simple tea bread recipe is essentially the same thing. Bara brith and barmbrack both mean “speckled bread” in their respective languages. The methods are similar and the fruit is always soaked in tea.

Much like the English version, the Scottish one is called Scottish tea loaf. Although there is a well known yeasted fruit bread called Selkirk Bannock, the fruit is not soaked in tea.

Originally they’d all have been made with yeast and some still are. But the yeast version doesn’t keep nearly as long or as well as this simple non-yeasted tea loaf. It’s also a lot easier and quicker to make.

My tea bread is as simple as they come. There’s nothing fancy here, but the result is really rather good. It seems to get better the longer you keep it – within reason of course. It develops that slightly chewy, sticky quality beloved of malt loaves. If you can bring yourself to keep it until day two before tucking in, you’ll appreciate it even more.

Just wrap it in greaseproof paper and store in an air tight container. It should keep for a week stored like this.

The main thing to remember with this loaf is that although it’s really quick and easy to prepare, you need to get the fruit soaking well in advance. The evening before baking is always a good idea. The sweet fruit soaks up the bitter tannins which provides a delightful contrast of flavours. The tea also plumps up the fruit and makes them pleasantly juicy.

Other than that, it’s just a case of stirring.

Tea bread is traditionally served spread with butter for afternoon tea. In Yorkshire, they like to serve it alongside a chunk of Wensleydale cheese. I can attest that this is a very nice way to enjoy this simple loaf.

Ingredients And Variations

You’ll probably have everything you need to make tea bread in your store cupboard. You don’t need any dairy and the only fresh ingredient needed is an egg.

Dried Fruit

Tea bread is traditionally made with vine fruit. Essentially this means dried grapes. However, you can get these in various forms: raisins, sultanas and currants. You can choose one of these or go for a mix.

However, although I’d suggest using a proportion of vine fruit, it’s fine to use other dried fruit instead. If the pieces are large, just chop them up. Cranberries work well.

I used a mix of sultanas and dried dates, apricots, papaya and pineapple. If I remember, I won’t use papaya and pineapple again. They’re just a little bit too hard. This is meant to be a moist and chewy loaf, so you don’t want any hard bits to spoil the texture.

Flour

Wholemeal flour works just fine in this recipe. It’s not meant to be a light and spongey bake, so if you haven’t yet tried baking with wholemeal flour, tea bread is a good recipe to start with. You probably won’t notice the difference, except you’ll know the bake is quite a bit healthier.

I use plain wholemeal flour and add baking powder. I’ve never really been a fan of self-raising flour as it’s more difficult to control, but you could use that instead if that’s what you have to hand.

Spice

Not all tea breads add spice. Some people prefer the flavour of the tea to shine through. I find a little spice adds welcome sweet notes and it doesn’t mask the tea. It also scents the house wonderfully whilst the cake is baking.

Mixed spice or pumpkin spice both work well in this recipe, though you could make up your own mix if you prefer. Cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg are all traditional spices used in British fruit cakes.

Sugar

The flavours in this tea bread are robust, so it can easily take dark brown sugar. I like to use muscovado as it’s less processed than most. But any brown sugar will do.

Tea

You need strong black tea to make a tea loaf. I find the flavour comes through just fine with one teabag, but if you’re a fan of tea, go for two. The main thing is that you allow it to brew for at least five minutes.

However, it’s always fun to try something different. With its citrus undertones, Earl Grey works well in this recipe as does Lady Grey. But feel free to experiment with whatever type of tea you like or want to use up.

For barmbrack, try swapping 50ml of the tea for 50ml Irish whiskey.

How To Make A Simple Tea Loaf

This is such a simple and easy bake that you don’t need anything other than a bowl and mixing spoon to prepare it. Well maybe a sieve. What you do need though is planning. The fruit needs to soak in tea for a good few hours.

Please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post for full instructions, timings and quantities of ingredients used.

Step 1. Soak Fruit

Unless you have a pot of tea on the go, you’ll need to brew one before doing anything else. Make it nice and strong and brew it for at least five minutes.

Although you can use cold tea, warm tea will do a better job of plumping up the fruit.

If you’re using anything other than vine fruit, you may need to chop it up a bit. Roughly chop any large fruit, such as dates, apricots or prunes into roughly raisin sized pieces. There’s no need to be too precious about it though.

Place all of the fruit into a large mixing bowl along with the sugar. Pour the tea over the fruit and give everything a good stir. Cover the bowl with a plate or plastic bag and leave to soak overnight or for at least six hours. Anything up to 24 hours is fine.

Step 2. Prepare Tin

When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven and prepare the loaf tin. You know your tin, but to ensure the loaf turns out well, it’s probably best to line it with parchment paper. You can buy ready made liners, though it’s not a route I’ve gone down.

I used a silicone mould this time so I don’t need to line it. I just grease it lightly and once baked, out it pops. That said, I do have to insert it into an actual tin, as the silicone doesn’t hold its shape very well.

Step 3. Stir

Grab your bowl of tea soaked fruit. Don’t worry if the fruit hasn’t soaked up all of the tea though, any residual liquid helps to flavour the loaf and keep it moist.

Sift the flour, baking powder and spice into the bowl and stir to combine using a large spoon. If you have any bran left in the sieve, just tip it into the bowl.

Break in the egg and again stir thoroughly to combine.

Ensure everything there are no lumps of flour anywhere, especially on the bottom of the bowl.

Step 4. Bake Cake

Scrape the mixture into your loaf tin and level the top. Transfer it to the centre of your preheated oven. Bake for an hour then test to see if the tea bread is done.

The loaf is properly baked when it’s well risen and firm to the touch. If you’re not sure, insert a skewer into the middle of the loaf. If it comes out more or less clean, it’s done. However, if it has wet batter clinging to it, the cake needs more time. Give it another five to ten minutes and test again.

Once baked, transfer the loaf to a wire rack. Leave it in the tin for a good ten minutes, then turn it out onto the wire rack to cool.

Step 5. Serve

Once completely cool, you can do one of two things:

Wrap it up in greaseproof paper and store in an airtight container. This tea bread improves on keeping and has a better texture and flavour on days two and three than on day one. It will easily keep for a week if stored properly.
Cut into thick slices, spread with salted butter and enjoy with a cup of tea. Tea bread is also delicious served with a slice of cheese. A good cheddar cheese is my personal favourite.

Other Dried Fruit Bakes You Might Like

Keep in Touch

Thank you for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you make this simple tea bread loaf, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. Do you have any recommendations or advice for making tea bread?

Please rate the recipe. If you post pictures of your creations on social media, use the hashtag #tinandthyme so I can see them.

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Choclette x

Simple Tea Bread. PIN IT.

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4.67 from 3 votes

Simple Tea Bread: aka Bara Brith or Barmbrack

Tea bread is a very British type of simple fat-free fruit cake. It's not as sweet as most fruit bakes, but it is more of a loaf cake than a bread as it doesn't contain yeast. Dried fruit are soaked and plumped up in black tea. This recipe is super easy to make and very tasty, especially when spread with butter.

Prep Time10

Cook Time1

Marinading Time8

Course: Afternoon Tea

Cuisine: British, Irish, Welsh

Keyword: dried fruit, fruit loaf, tea, tea cakes

Servings: slices

Calories: 184kcal

Author: Choclette @ Tin and Thyme

Equipment

2 lb loaf tin (affiliate link)

Ingredients

100 g sultanas raisins or currants
200 g mixed dried fruit can use more of the above for a traditional loaf (I used a mix of chopped dates and dried apricots)
50 g dark brown sugar (I used muscovado)
350 ml strong black tea can use Earl Grey for a more elegant flavour
225 g wholemeal flour (whole wheat)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp mixed spice or pumpkin spice
1 large egg

Metric – US Customary

Instructions

Chop any large fruit into roughly large raisin sized pieces. Place all of the fruit into a large mixing bowl along with the sugar. Pour the tea over the fruit. The tea doesn't have to be hot, but warm helps. Give everything a good stir. Cover the bowl with a plate or plastic bag and leave to soak overnight or for at least 6 hours.
100 g sultanas, 200 g mixed dried fruit, 50 g dark brown sugar, 350 ml strong black tea
When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 180℃ (160℃ fan, 350℉, Gas 4).
Sift the dry ingredients into the bowl of fruit and stir to combine. Do not drain off any remaining tea.
225 g wholemeal flour (whole wheat), 2 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp mixed spice
Break in the egg and again stir to combine.
1 large egg
Scrape the mixture into a well greased or lined 900g (2 lb) loaf tin. Level the top then bake in the centre of the oven for an hour. The loaf is done when it’s well risen and firm to the touch. An inserted skewer should come out more or less clean. If it’s not quite done, give it another five to ten minutes.
Leave the loaf in the tin for a good ten minutes, then turn it out onto a wire rack to cool.
Once completely cool, cut into thick slices, spread with salted butter and enjoy with a cup of tea.

Notes

If you can hold back, this tea bread is at its best a day or even two after baking. Wrap in greaseproof paper and keep in a sealed container. It will last for a week kept this way.

In the north of England, many like to serve tea bread with a slice of cheese.

You’ll find additional tips and info about this recipe in the main body of the post.

Please note: calories and other nutritional information are per serving. They’re approximate and will depend on serving size and exact ingredients used. Please refer to my nutrition disclaimer for further information.

Nutrition Estimate

Tried this recipe?Leave a comment below letting us know how you got on and do share a photo on Instagram. Tag @choclette8 or use hashtag #tinandthyme.