Traveling “Speckled Bread” (Bara Brith)
Remarkably easy and riff-able, this recipe for a cake-like Welsh fruit bread is by Helen Goh. It has been slightly adapted from her marvelous book, Baking and the Meaning of Life (Abrams, 2025). Start this recipe 1 or 2 days before serving to allow the fruit to soak and the bread to age nicely. I opted for a 50/50 blend of all-purpose and whole wheat pastry flour for a bit of extra flavor. You can stick to all purpose flour, if you like.
Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 70 g | ½ cup candied ginger dried cranberries, or a combo
- 70 g | scant ½ cup pitted prunes
- 70 g | ½ cup dried apricots
- 70 g | ½ cup golden raisins
- 70 g | ½ cup currants or dark raisins
- 4 black tea bags, preferably Assam or Irish Breakfast
- 300 ml | 1 ¼ cups water, boiling hot
- 250 g | 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour, or a 50/50 combo of all-purpose and wheat pastry flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons ras el hanout, or 1 ½ teaspoons Chinese five spice plus ¼ teaspoon each of ground cumin and coriander
- Mounded ¼ teaspoon salt
- 180 to 200 g | about 1 cup light or dark muscovado or brown sugar (use less if using candied ginger)
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon honey (any kind)
- Salted butter, softened, to serve
Instructions
- Prep the fruit: Use scissors or a knife to cut the ginger, prunes, and apricots into roughly ½-inch (1.25 cm) pieces, dropping them into a medium-large pot or bowl. Add the raisins and currants.
- Soak the fruit overnight: In a liquid measuring cup, combine the hot water and teabags. Set aside to steep, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Remove the teabags, squeeze firmly to return any tea to the cup, then discard the bags. Pour the hot tea over the fruit. Cover and leave and a cool place overnight (or up to 24 hours) to allow the fruits to plump up and absorb the tea.
- Ready the oven and pan: The next day, preheat the oven to 325 F (165 C), and line the bottom and sides of a standard loaf pan (about 8 ½ x 4 ½ inches | 20 x 10 cm) with parchment paper. Allow a generous overhang on all sides to help lift the cake out once baked.
- Make the batter and bake: Sift the flour, baking powder, spice(s), and salt together directly into the pot (or bowl) of soaked fruit. Add the sugar, egg, and honey, and stir together until all the ingredients are well combined.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 80 to 90 minutes, until a skewer (or cake tester) inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for about 20 minutes, then lift the cake out of the pan and place on the wire rack to cool completely.
- Age then eat: The cake may be eaten on the same day, but if you have the willpower, wrap it in a layer of parchment, followed by foil and set aside for 24 hours (see main post for tips). It will improve in texture and flavor.
- To serve, cut into thick slices and spread thickly with salted butter.
- The cake will keep well for up to 5 days after which the slices may be toasted.
Notes
You can wrap the cake tightly once it has cooled and set it aside for 24 hours with the flavor to develop and the texture to settle into a uniform moist grump. Like many fruit cakes, and approves with age if wrapped properly.
For textural interest, include ¾ cup (75g) of coarsely chopped walnuts. Add it with the sugar as you mix up the batter.
