Bara Brith

So I've had this recipe in a vegetarian cook book for years wondering what it would be like...

Turns out its Welsh tea cake.

Now if you're reading this its cause you probably know me and you may even know that I'm from Argentina. What you probably don't know is that my maternal Grandmother (who passed away at 102 last year) was Irish and my family has strong Irish traditions. Argentina like Australia is very multicultural, just that it all happened at the turn of the 19th Century and post World Wars. These days not many people can readily admit they don't have an ancestor from Spain, Italy, Ireland, Wales, Armenia etc.

But back to the family traditions.... One of these has been a yearly Welsh Afternoon Tea fundraiser at the local library that my Grandmother and mother founded back in the 60's. I have no idea why it's a Welsh tea and not Irish but I will be there this year and being a chef I've been seconded into cooking Torta Galesa (Welsh Cake) for about 100 people.

I had a go at this recipe and it's delicious, better than your average fruit cake due to the fruit being soaked in strong tea (and ahem... a good dash of whiskey)! This recipe is from the North Wales Tourism website, the whiskey was my addition!

Let you know how the Afternoon Tea goes....

Bara Brith

This is literally translated as ‘speckled bread’. Once a week, the stove was lit for baking day, as the heat began to fade in the stove, so a handful of currants was added to the last of the bread dough and this speckled bread became a treat. The flavour, however, of this spiced, honey-glazed fruit bread is delicious when spread with salted Welsh butter, and it is no wonder that Bara Brith is still produced all over Wales.

450g (1lb) mixed dried fruit

300ml (1/2 pint) tea
40ml whiskey (optional)

2 tbsp marmalade

1 egg, beaten

6 tbsp soft brown sugar

1 tsp mixed spice

450g (1lb) self-raising flour

honey to glaze

1. Soak the fruit overnight in the tea (and whiskey).
2. Next day, mix the marmalade, egg, sugar, spice and flour. Spoon into a greased 900g (1lb) loaf tin and bake in a warm oven (gas 3, 325ºF, 170ºC) for one and three quarter hours or until the centre is cooked through. Check from time to time that the top doesn’t brown too much, and cover with a sheet of foil or move down a shelf in the oven if necessary.
3. Once cooked, leave the Bara Brith to stand for 5 minutes, then tip out of the tin on to a cooling tray. Using a pastry brush, glaze the top with honey.
4. Serve sliced with salted butter and some tasty farmhouse Cheddar. Store in an airtight tin.