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Brack is a traditional Irish cake baked at Halloween. The name comes from the Irish word ‘breac’, which means speckled. Fruit freckles every slice of this delicious cake or bread.

What makes this cake so much fun is the tradition of baking trinkets inside. I remember chewing each slice, hoping I would be the lucky one to bite into the ring. I wasn’t interested in marriage at six years of age, but just fancied the ring. Each trinket had a meaning:

Ring = marriage within the year

Coin or bean = wealth

Cloth or pea = poverty

Thimble = continue to be a spinster

Button = continue to be a bachelor

Religious medal = join a religious order

There are two types of brack: barm brack and tea brack. Yeast is used as a raising agent in barm brack, while tea brack rises with the aid of baking powder.

Today, I am going to share a recipe for tea brack. This version is a little lighter than the tea brack of my youth. The end result is just how my kids like it.

Ingredients for Irish Tea Brack:

Here you’ll find a quick list of what you’ll need for this recipe. Check out the printable recipe at the bottom of this post for US and Metric equivalent versions of the recipe. There you can choose the measurement system that works best for you.

Here’s what you will need:

raisins

golden raisins

light brown sugar

black or orange flavored hot tea

cake flour

baking powder

pumpkin pie spice

eggs

grated orange zest

orange marmalade

squeezed orange juice

Directions for Irish Tea Brack:

Here you’ll find step-by-step photographic instructions to help you recreate this recipe successfully. There are plenty of tips included along the way.

The key to tea brack success is soaking the dried fruit in tea overnight. The night before you plan to make your brack, put the raisins in a glass bowl that can handle high heat.

Add the brown sugar to the fruit.

Make a pot of tea and let it brew for a little while. You can use a strong black tea such as English Breakfast Tea, or I chose to use an orange infused tea to add flavor to the fruit.

Add 2 cups of hot tea to the fruit and sugar. Stir it well at this stage to dissolve all of the sugar. Cover the bowl and leave it overnight. It is best to leave it at room temperature to maximize soakage. The fruit tends to contract a little in a refrigerator.

On baking day, preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch round cake pan. In olden days, it was necessary to butter the pan, and then line it with parchment paper to avoid sticking. I just use a non-stick, quick-release pan, which I spray with flour infused oil. I love this stuff for baking.

Next sift the flour, baking powder and pumpkin pie spice into a bowl. In Ireland we use mixed spice, which has a very unique combination of cinnamon, coriander, caraway, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, allspice, and mace. It adds a very distinctive flavor to Irish and British baking. The best American alternative is pumpkin pie spice mix.

In another bowl add two eggs, the orange juice and orange zest. Beat them together.

Next, add the marmalade and beat it all together.

You are now ready to add the soaked fruit to the egg mixture and blend all the wet ingredients together.

Next step is where wet meets dry. Add about one third of the flour mixture to the eggs and mix it together. Add the next third, and mix well before adding the remainder of the flour.

The batter is a fairly gloopy mess. If you plan to add trinkets to your cake, now is the time to do it. First wrap them in parchment paper. I did not add any, this year. I don’t fancy any choking hazards for my trio of four-year olds. Make sure you don’t use anything plastic or toxic that might melt.

Pour the batter into the cake pan. Sorry this photo is a little out of focus. I was trying to hold the bowl, pour and take the picture all at the same time.

Here’s how it looks in the cake pan before cooking. Place it in the oven for 90 minutes. The cake is cooked when a tooth pick is inserted and comes out clean. Cool it in the pan for one hour after removing it from the oven. Then transfer it to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Here is the finished product. It can be sliced up and buttered to accompany a cup of tea or coffee, or it can be stored in an air-tight cake box.

Slices of speckled brack – absolutely delicious.

The printable recipe is outlined below.

Tea Brack Brack is a light Irish fruit cake made by soaking dried fruit in tea before baking. 5 from 1 vote Print Pin Prep Time: 20 minutes Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes Fruit Soaking Time: 12 hours Total Time: 13 hours 50 minutes Servings: 24 Calories: 162 kcal Ingredients 1½ cups raisins

1 cup golden raisins

1 cup light brown sugar

2 cups tea black or orange flavored hot tea

3½ cups cake flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon grated orange zest

¼ cup orange marmalade

2 tablespoons orange juice freshly squeezed Instructions The night before you plan baking this brack, put the dried fruit and brown sugar into a large bowl. Pour the hot tea over the fruit, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Cover and leave overnight to allow the fruit to soak in the tea and swell.

Grease a 9 inch round x 3 inch high cake pan. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Sieve the flour, baking powder, and pumpkin pie spice together in a bowl.

Beat the eggs, marmalade, orange zest and orange juice in another large mixing bowl. Add the tea-soaked fruit and mix well.

Add the spice and flour to the wet raisin mixture in portions (about one third at a time). Mix the flour with a large spoon after each addition.

Pour the cake mixture into the prepared cake pan. Smooth the top and bake in the preheated oven for 90 minutes.

Leave to cool in the pan for about 1 hour before turning the cake out onto a wire rack to fully cool. When it is cold it can be cut in slices to serve, or stored in an airtight cake box. Nutrition Facts Tea Brack Amount Per Serving (50 g) Calories 162 Calories from Fat 9 % Daily Value* Fat 1g 2% Saturated Fat 1g 6% Cholesterol 16mg 5% Sodium 50mg 2% Potassium 166mg 5% Carbohydrates 37g 12% Fiber 1g 4% Sugar 15g 17% Protein 3g 6% Vitamin A 25IU 1% Vitamin C 2mg 2% Calcium 40mg 4% Iron 1mg 6% * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet. Nutrition Information is estimated based on the ingredients and cooking instructions as described in each recipe and is intended to be used for informational purposes only. Please note that nutrition details may vary based on methods of preparation, origin and freshness of ingredients used. Tried this recipe? Mention @IrishAmericanMomBlog or tag #irishamericanmom

Wishing you all happy baking days and a very happy Halloween.

Click here for other recipes you might like.

Thanks for following my recipes and ramblings.

Slán agus beannacht,

(Goodbye and blessings)

Irish American Mom

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