This is a nice and easy everyday farmhouse tea loaf that would look great on any kitchen table. It is perfect for filling up the cake tin and for feeding to guests along with a steaming hot pot of tea. This tea loaf only needs 6 everyday ingredients – hot tea, granulated sugar, mixed dried fruit, marmalade, egg and self-raising flour. There are no spices in this tea loaf, making it ideal for those who prefer a spice-less fruit tea bread. Additionally, it’s nice and light, as there is just the right amount of dried fruit. Also, there is no butter or margarine needed for the recipe as tea loafs are intended to be sliced and spread with butter.

Tea loafs or tea breads have been around for centuries and each region of Britain has their own specialities from the Welsh Bara Brith to the Irish Barm Brack and the countless variations of Scottish and English tea bread recipes.

Farmhouse tea loaf recipe

This recipe for farmhouse tea loaf was sourced from my copy of the book – The Farmhouse Cookbook by Mary Norwak. The first edition of Norwak’s book was published in 1975, and my copy is the 1991 revised edition. The original recipe is from chapter 6, which is called ‘Harvest Home,’ and the recipe can be found on page 106.

This tea loaf has chewy crusts and a light, soft, and sweet inner crumb with subtle hints of tangy orange from the marmalade. It’s a nice plain fruit tea loaf as it has no overwhelming flavours of spices and has just enough dried fruit so it is not as heavy as some other tea breads.

Older or staler slices of tea loaf are delicious when toasted and spread with butter or margarine. I simply use an ordinary toaster, and the slices of tea loaf keep their shape and toast beautifully. I love having this toasted tea loaf for breakfast, accompanied by a cup of tea, of course. Being Scottish, my family does enjoy endless cups of tea!

Tea loaves, fruit breads, and fruit loaf cakes are one of my favourite country bakes to make so expect lots more recipes! Meanwhile do have a look at this delicious Country Tea Bread which features a crunchy walnut and honey topping.

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Farmhouse Tea Loaf

This is a nice and easy everyday farmhouse tea loaf that would look great on any kitchen table. It is perfect for filling up the cake tin and for feeding to guests along with a steaming hot pot of tea. A slice buttered is a simple tasty snack.

Course Afternoon tea, Snack, Tea time

Cuisine British

Keyword farmhouse tea bread, farmhouse tea loaf, tea bread, traditional British baking recipes

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Total Time 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes

Servings 12 slices

Author Leigh

Equipment

• 1 Ib loaf pan
• parchment paper
• mixing bowl
• mixing spoon
• sieve
• cooling rack
• skewer or similar for testing cake is baked

Ingredients

• 150 mililitre hot tea
• 100 grams granulated or caster sugar
• 100 grams mixed dried fruit
• 2 tablespoons marmalade
• 1 egg
• 225 grams self-raising flour

Instructions

The evening before baking:

• Add the hot tea, sugar, and dried fruit to a mixing bowl. Stir well and pop a cover over the bowl. Leave until the next day. As it sits you can give it a stir a few times but it's not necessary.
  150 mililitre hot tea, 100 grams granulated or caster sugar, 100 grams mixed dried fruit

Bake the tea loaf:

• Preheat the oven to 180℃, 350℉, or gas mark 4.
• Grease the loaf pan with margarine, butter, or a little oil, and then line the pan with parchment paper.
• Stir the egg and marmalade into the soaked dried fruits in the mixing bowl.
  1 egg, 2 tablespoons marmalade
• Sift the flour into the bowl.
  225 grams self-raising flour
• Give it all a mix until the ingredients are fully incorporated.
• Scoop the cake mixture into the prepared loaf pan.
• Bake on the middle oven shelf for 50-60 minutes until the tea loaf feels firm, is golden, and a skewer popped into the middle comes out clean.
• Allow the tea loaf to rest in the pan for 5 minutes before removing and placing on to a cooling rack.
• Once cooled, remove the parchment paper, and enjoy the tea loaf sliced and buttered.

Notes

1. Store tea loaf in a cake tin for up to a week. Also wrap the cake in kitchen foil to keep it fresher for longer.
2. Tea loafs are designed to be enjoyed sliced and buttered, along with a cup of tea or coffee. As the recipe contains no add-fat such as butter or margarine the tea loaf may dry out quicker compared to bakes with fat. 
3. If the tea loaf slices become stale refresh in a warm oven for a few minutes.
4. Or toast the tea loaf.
5. Jam, marmalade, or honey are also very tasty spread on a slice of tea loaf.
6. Switch the recipe up with different flavours of tea – try earl grey, ordinary tea, fruit teas, or herbal teas.
7. If you’d like some warm spices add a teaspoon of ground cinnamon, ginger, mixed spice, apple pie or pumpkin pie spice mix.

Do let us know if you bake this farmhouse tea loaf as we love it when old recipes are brought back to life in everyday kitchens!