Food with JP passion – Traditional Halloween tea brack
By JP Kennedy
John Paul Kennedy is a self-taught cook and an avid fan of collecting cookery books with a passion for good old-fashioned home cooking. his passion for proper family cooking stems from his TWO Grandmothers, who were both excellent cooks, one of whom was a trained chef. JP promises to bring us plenty of family-inspired recipes and tasty treats while showing us how to get the basics right.
This weeks recipes are both halloween themed; one an old Irish family traditional, Tea Brack, the other a simple Ghost Meringue recipe that you can have lots of fun making with kids.
When I was a young boy halloween always meant Tea Brack with the toy ring in it and curly kale and mash with money carefully wrapped in cling film hidden beneath the mash potato!
I’ve surpassed the days of curly kale mash with money hidden inside but I still adore the tradition of a good old fashioned Irish Tea Brack.
Halloween Tea Brack
Ingredients: (Makes 1 Loaf)
300ml of cold tea
350g mixed Dried fruit
250g plain flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons mixed spice
1 egg beaten
120g castor sugar
Method:
1. Place the dried fruit into a mixing bowl and pour over the cold tea. Cover with cling film and leave to soak overnight. The fruit will become all plump and juicy!
2. The following day preheat your oven to 180 degrees and pop the sugar and beaten egg into a large mixing bowl or you can use a free standing mixer – I always do!
3. Then sift in the dry ingredients, flour, baking powder, mixed spice and mix well.
4. Pour in the tea soaked dried fruits and mix all the ingredients together well.
5. Pop into a greased loaf tin and bake in the oven for one hour. To test your cake is fully cooked insert a metal skewer into the middle of the loaf and if it comes out clean it’s baked!
6. Allow to cool fully before slicing and serving with lashings of real Irish butter. The Tea Brack will keep for up to 2 weeks and when it starts to stale it’s delicious toasted!
Contact JP
Twitter: @JPKCooking
Email: JPKCooking@gmail.com
Instagram: jpkennedy.kennedy
TAGS Lifestyle
