Irish Freckle Bread
This loaf is full of luscious dried fruit - golden raisins, currants, plump dried apricots, and dates – all steeped in rich, black tea. This medley of flavor is nestled into a beautiful whole wheat batter balanced with the crunch of toasted walnuts and a deep but subtle sweetness from brown sugar.
Equipment
- Electric mixer
- 8" round cake pan
Ingredients
- 1 cup golden raisins
- ½ cup currants
- 1 cup dried apricots, chopped into small pieces – about 30 apricots
- 1 cup dates, chopped into small pieces – about 22 dates
- 1 cup hot strong black tea, brewed with two tea bags
- 1 cup chopped toasted walnuts
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup white whole-wheat flour
- 1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
- 1 extra-large egg
- 1 tablespoon sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325-degrees.
- Combine the raisins, currants, chopped apricots, and chopped dates in a mixing bowl.
- Pour the hot tea over the fruit and stir to mix together. Allow the fruit to steep in the tea until completely cool, about 15 minutes stirring frequently.
- In a large mixing bowl add the brown sugar along with white whole-wheat flour, the pastry flour, baking powder, and kosher salt. Mix on medium speed until the dry ingredients are blended together, about 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add the fruit and tea along with the butter, blending on low speed until the fruit is mixed into the batter, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Stir in the egg, mixing on low for about 2 minutes.
- Scoop the batter into an 8” round cake pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray.
- Sprinkle the tablespoon of sugar over the top of the bread.
- Bake in a 325-degree oven for 1 hour and 10 or until the bread tests done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Let the bread cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around the edge of the pan and turn the bread out on a wire rack to cool completely.