traditional Irish Barmbrack | halloween baking | Samhain traditions | 18th century cooking

mixed dried fruit

🥗Healthier: fresh fruit

💰Cheaper: raisins

Fresh fruit adds natural sweetness and reduces preservatives.

butter

🥗Healthier: coconut oil

💰Cheaper: margarine

Coconut oil offers a dairy-free alternative with similar texture.

The night before, add 300 grams of sultanas and raisins to a large bowl.

Brew 300 ml of strong Irish tea and let it steep for 5-10 minutes until the color changes.

Remove the tea bags and pour the steaming tea over the fruit, ensuring all the fruit is submerged.

Cover the bowl with a tea towel and set aside until the next day.

The following day, prepare your other ingredients: 1 large egg, 225 grams self-raising flour, 125 grams caster sugar, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, and a pinch of mixed spice.

Gently warm the fruit bowl for 5 minutes to help the sugar dissolve more evenly.

Add the caster sugar to the fruit and gently mix through.

Break and stir in 1 large egg.

Add the self-raising flour and spices, and give a good mix.

Wrap a gold ring tightly in baking paper and add it to the mixture.

Pour the mix into a lined baking tin.

Bake in a preheated oven at 170°C/325°F/Gas 3 for approximately one hour or until risen and firm to the touch.

Cooking Techniques

Equipment Needed

Spice Level:

Allergens