Persian tea loaf

If you’re not a fan of rosewater, use orange blossom water instead.

SERVES 8-10 PREP 30min, plus (overnight) soaking and cooling COOK about 1½hr

• 275ml (9½fl oz) hot, strong

Earl Grey or English Breakfast tea

• 125g (4oz) each dried figs and apricots, roughly chopped

• 150g (5oz) sultanas

• 125g (4oz) light brown soft sugar

• 10 green cardamom pods

• 75g (3oz) pistachios, finely ground

• 200g (7oz) self-raising flour

• ½tsp rosewater

• 2 medium eggs, beaten

FOR THE ICING

• 150g (5oz) icing sugar

• Pink food colouring (optional)

• 25g (1oz) pistachios, chopped

• Dried rose petals (optional)

1 Pour the tea into a bowl and add the dried fruit and brown sugar. Stir to dissolve sugar, then leave to soak for a minimum of 1hr or, preferably, overnight.

2 Preheat oven to 150°C (130°C fan) mark 2. Line a 900g (2lb) loaf tin with baking parchment. Bash open cardamom pods in a pestle and mortar, pick out seeds and discard husks. Grind seeds to a powder. Scrape ground cardamom into a bowl and mix in ground pistachios and flour. Add the soaked fruit mixture, rosewater and eggs; mix to combine.

3 Scrape the mixture into the prepared tin, level and bake for 1hr 20-1hr 30min until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool in the tin for

5min, then remove from tin and cool completely on a wire rack.

4 Transfer cooled loaf to a board; remove parchment. Sift icing sugar into a bowl and mix in about 1½tbsp cold water to make a thick but spreadable consistency. Dye pink with food colouring, if using. Spread over top of cake, so it dribbles down sides.

Scatter over pistachios and rose petals, if using. Allow to set before serving in slices. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.

PER SERVING (FOR 10): CALS 349; FAT 7G; SAT FAT 1G; CARBS 62G