Bara Brith always reminds me of Christmas. It was one of the first things I learned how to bake and every Christmas my auntie would gift us a loaf along with her homegrown, homemade apple chutney. This year I wanted to bring a little bit of that Welsh Christmas spirit into my new house in Chiang Mai and create a version that was both vegan and gluten-free so everyone could enjoy it.
If you've never had Bara Brith before it's similar to a fruit loaf but what makes it special is that the fruit is soaked in tea giving the loaf a nice tea flavour. It's the perfect Christmas cake alternative if you don't like a heavy dense fruit cake or strong spices and it goes nicely with a warm cider or hot eggnog.
As the main ingredients of Bara Brith are eggs and flour it was a bit of a challenge to make this both vegan and gluten-free and get the texture right but after a few failed attempts I'm finally happy enough with the results to share my recipe in time for Christmas.
Ingredients
- 100g Dried mixed fruit
- 70g Brown sugar
- 100ml Hot water
- 1 Tea bag (Yorkshire Tea is my favourite but any breakfast or black tea will work)
- 100g Gluten-free flour mix
- 30g Riceberry flour
- 70g Unsweetened applesauce
- 1/2 tbsp Ground flax seeds
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 1/4 tsp Cinnamon powder
Step 1 - Soak the fruit
The first thing to do is make a very strong tea brew, I usually let the tea bag soak in boiling water for about 5 minutes and then give the tea bag a good squeeze to get all the flavour out. After the tea is brewed add 100ml of the hot tea into the dried mixed fruit and brown sugar, give it a stir to help the sugar dissolve, and leave it to soak overnight.
Step 2 - Preheat an oven to 180°C
Prepare a 6" loaf tin by greasing it with a little oil and line the bottom with some baking paper.
Step 3 - Mix the dry ingredients
In a mixing bowl mix together the flours, ground flax seed, baking powder and cinnamon
Step 4 - Add the wet ingredients
To the dry ingredients add in the tea soaked fruit and mixed until combined. There's no need to drain the fruit just add in the whole tea, fruit, sugar mix.
Step 5 - Mix in the applesauce
Lastly fold the applesauce into the mixture until well combined.
Step 6 - Pour batter into a loaf tin
Evenly distribute the batter in the tin and then drop the tin on the kitchen counter a couple of times to make any air bubbles rise to the surface and ensure you don't get any holes in your loaf.
Step 7 - Bake in a oven
Place the loaf tin into the center of a pre-heated oven and bake for 20 - 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. If the top of the loaf is starting to look like it's burning but the loaf isn't completely cooked through yet you can cover it with tin foil on top to prevent the top from burning.
Step 8 - Let it cool
Once cooked take the Bara Brith out of the oven and let it cool for 10 - 20 minutes then remove it from the tin and let it cool for a little while longer before slicing and serving. Leaving it to cool will help the structure so when you cut into it it won't be too crumbly.
Step 9 - Serve and store
You can serve the Bara Brith sliced plain or with a bit of butter or honey and if you need to store it, it will last around 7 days in an airtight box which you can leave on the counter or if you live in a warmer climate like me then it's better to keep it the fridge.
Happy Holidays and be sure to tag me on Instagram if you make it
Love & Hugs
Cate
xoxo
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