Chef recommends…Yorkshire Tea fruit loaf

HERE is something that we serve in The Garden Room restaurant at The Mansion, courtesy of our chefs at Dine, based in Roundhay.

Don’t forget to take a flask of tea with you – this is best served with a cuppa!

Ingredients:

250g dried mixed fruit – you can choose whichever you like best, but we tend to go for a luxury mix with cranberries, apricots, cherries, candied peel and sultanas.

100g glace cherries – halved
100g soft dark brown sugar
100g butter
Zest of one orange
250ml of strong black tea – we use Yorkshire Gold Tea… Of course!
1 medium egg – beaten
220g self-raising flour

1. Line a 2lb loaf tin with grease proof paper, or a loaf in tin liner.
2. In a large pan combine the dried fruit, cherries, butter, sugar, zest and tea. Simmer over a medium / low heat for 30 mins, stirring occasionally.
3. Allow the mixture to cool completely in the pan. Whilst the mixture is cooling, heat the oven to 150 degrees C.
4. Once cooled, add the beaten egg, and the flour, and stir until well combined.
5. Pour the batter into the lined loaf tin and bake in the preheated oven for approximately 1 hour 20 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
6. Leave to cool for a few minutes in the tin, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

This also goes brilliantly with a nice big chunk of Wensleydale cheese. Simple pleasures!