Rich tea bread
‘This is a recipe for a healthy combination of ingredients, transformed – with a little love and effort – into a very tasty loaf that will make the whole family happy,’ says Gulin. ‘Plus, many ingredients in this recipe can be replaced with any of the fruits, seeds and nuts that have been cluttering your kitchen cupboards for months!’ Makes 8–10 slices
● 60g dried plums
● 60g dates
● 40g dried cranberries
● 2 tbsp dried goji berries
● 60g raisins
● 330ml strong, hot tea (such as rosehip or aniseed)
● 3 tbsp brown rice syrup or pure maple syrup
● Freshly squeezed juice and grated zest of 1 orange
● 65g sunflower oil
● 200g flour
● 1 tsp baking powder
● 1 tsp bicarbonate of baking soda
● ¼ tsp salt
● ½ tsp ground cinnamon
● ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
● ¼ tsp ground ginger
● 110g chopped cashews
● 110g chopped walnuts
● 3 tbsp chopped hazelnuts or pine nuts
1 Chop all the dried fruit into pieces roughly the same size as the raisins. Take the strong, hot tea and pour over the chopped fruit in a mixing bowl. Allow it to steep for at least 30 minutes or longer. Preheat your oven to 180°C/ 160°C fan/gas mark 4. Then, add the syrup, orange juice and zest, and the oil to the bowl of soaked fruit, and mix well.
2 In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cashews, walnuts and hazelnuts or pine nuts. Add them to the fruit mixture and mix again with a wooden spoon until incorporated.
3 Spoon the cake mixture into the prepared loaf pan and spread level with a spatula. Bake in the preheated oven for 45–55 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.
4 Serve a slice of the cake with a cup of hot tea of the same type used in the cake!