Celebrating my 4th Blog Anniversary with Fruity Orange Tea Loaf GF

Wow I can’t believe it's been 4 years today since I started my little blog. At the time I don’t think I would ever have imagined I’d still be blogging 4 years later. I’m pleased to say I get just as much, if not more, out of blogging now that I did when it was all new and exciting. Blogging has opened my eyes to the recipes, cuisines, cultures and weird and wonderful ingredients there are available out there in the world. It has encouraged and enabled me to make dishes I would probably never have attempted or even heard of if I had not discovered blogging. You, the readers and other bloggers are mostly to thank for this – so thank you! Ok, enough of the Oscar impersonations!

One of my life’s little pleasures is always having some sort of sweet treat after lunch. I’m a firm believer that a little bit of what you fancy does you good! Sometimes I crave slices of rich and indulgent cake, while other times a simple pot of yoghurt fits the bill perfectly. Recently I’ve been after something sweet, yet simple and homely. Nothing too elaborate or fussy and this fruity orange tea loaf is perfect for just such a craving.

I recently received an email from a family friend who said she had been advised to follow a wheat free diet. She had bought a gluten free fruity cake when out for the day and enjoyed it so much she wanted a recipe to make her own. She described a moist, richly fruited loaf cake and identified the fruits it contained. She asked if I had a recipe. I didn’t, but never one to pass up a challenge I told her I’d see what I could do and this moist, fruity, lightly spiced tea loaf is the result.

The ingredients list she gave me included fruit juice, but no oil or butter. Based on this I decided that the bread was probably similar to a tea loaf – where fruits are soaked overnight in strong tea before being baked into a cake, with the extra tea used as the liquid/binding agent. I decided to use a mix of dried fruits and soak them in fresh orange juice to achieve a similar result. This worked brilliantly and resulted in extremely plump and juicy fruits and really enhanced their flavour.

The batter is very soft and wet, but it has a long slow bake in the oven which allows a thick, slightly chewy sticky crust to form, while keeping the inside lovely and moist. The batter looks as though it’s going to overflow from the tin, but it doesn’t rise much due to its high fruit to batter ratio, so there were no oven disasters.

Despite being densely fruited, the cake itself is not in the least bit dense. It’s soft and springy and actually makes a ‘squish’ sound as you take a bite through all the succulent fruit. It’s a delicious way to have a bit of ‘me time’ snuggled on a comfy chair, tearing off little bits with your fingers. Plus, with no added fat there’s no need to feel guilty about it either.

Fruity Orange Tea Loaf GF

Ingredients100g dates – stones removed (if pre-chopped make sure they are dusted in rice flour, not wheat flour)

100g sultanas

100g raisins
50g dried apricots
275ml fresh orange juice

150ml water
50g soft brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp mixed spice

Zest of 1 lemon
250g gluten free self raising flour

20g ground almonds

½ tsp gluten free baking powder

MethodChop the dates and dried apricots into pieces the size of a large raisins and add them to a bowl along with the sultanas and raisins.

Measure the orange juice and water into a small saucepan and heat until steaming. It does not need to simmer or boil. Pour the hot juice over the dried fruit, stir briefly and then cover the top tightly with clingfilm and leave to steep overnight or for at least 10-12 hours.
The next day, the fruit will be very plump and juicy looking. Some of the fruit juice will still remain in the bowl which is fine.
Grease a loaf tin, approx 10x20cm, and pre-heat the oven to 150C and line the base and up the two longest sides with a long strip of greaseproof paper.
Stir the sugar, mixed spice and lemon zest into the soaking fruit. Stir until the sugar has mostly dissolved.
Add the eggs and mix well until they are evenly combined.
Scatter the flour, almonds and baking powder over the surface of the mixture. Use a large spatula or wooden spoon to beat the flour into the fruit mix, starting in the centre and working your way out towards the edge until everything is well incorporated (it will be a very wet mix).
Pour the batter into the prepared tin (it will reach the top) and bake for 1 hour and 30 – 40 minutes until golden brown and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out relatively clean (it may still be sticky if you hit a raisin).
Allow to cool for 15-20 minutes in the tin before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Serve in thick slices. I like it just as it is but it can be served with butter if that’s your thing.

Keeps well for 3-4 days wrapped in clingfilm and tastes great lightly toasted under the grill (don’t put it in a toaster!)