English Fruit Tea Loaf

Nov 6, 2026 · By VanillaGoods

Baking Cakes cupcakes Easy

A dense, moist English loaf made by soaking dried fruit overnight in strong black tea and brown sugar, then stirring in egg, flour and spice. It uses no butter in the batter, keeps for days and is traditionally sliced thick and spread with butter. Makes 1 loaf in about 3 hr 55 min.

Prep 15 min

Cook 75 min

Cooling 1 hr 10 min

Total 3 hr 55 min

Servings 12

Ingredients

Adjust yield

servings

1 cup (150 g)raisins
1 cup (150 g)golden raisins
2 oz (50 g)currants
⅔ cup (150 g)light brown sugar
1 cup (250 ml)hot strong black tea, brewed from 2 tea bags or 2 tsp loose tea, strained
1 (50 g)egg, large, beaten
2 cups (250 g)all-purpose flour
2 ½ tsp (10 g)baking powder, about 2 1/2 tsp
¼ oz (3 g)mixed spice, about 1 1/2 tsp
1 pinchfine salt

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Instructions

Put the raisins, golden raisins, currants and light brown sugar in a bowl, pour over the hot strong black tea and stir until the sugar dissolves. Cover and leave at room temperature overnight, at least 8 hours, until the fruit is plump and most of the tea is absorbed.
Heat the oven to 325°F (160°C). Grease the loaf pan and line it with parchment.
Stir the beaten egg into the soaked fruit and its liquid.
Whisk the all-purpose flour, baking powder, mixed spice and fine salt together, add to the fruit and stir until no dry flour remains; the batter will be thick.
Scrape into the pan and level the top.
Bake until risen, dark golden and a skewer pushed into the center comes out clean, 65 to 75 minutes. Cover loosely with foil after 45 minutes if the top is darkening too quickly.
Cool in the pan 10 minutes, then turn out and cool completely on a rack, about 1 hour. Slice thickly with a serrated knife.

Tips

Use a robust tea such as English breakfast, Assam or Earl Grey; weak tea gives a bland loaf.
Wrapped in parchment and foil, the loaf slices better and tastes richer on the second day.
Serve it the traditional way, sliced thick and spread with salted butter.
Good with english breakfast or Earl Grey tea.

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Recipe FAQ

How long does it take to make english fruit tea loaf?

Plan on 15 minutes of prep and 1 hour 15 minutes of cooking, plus 2 hours 25 minutes to rise and rest. The recipe makes 1 loaf (12 servings).

How should I store english fruit tea loaf?

Wrap well and keep at room temperature up to 1 week, or freeze up to 3 months.

Can I make english fruit tea loaf ahead?

It is at its best the day it is made; prepare it a few hours before serving.

Serve it with english breakfast or Earl Grey tea.

Variations

Earl Grey loaf: brew the tea with Earl Grey and add 2 tsp (4 g) finely grated orange zest with the egg; bake time unchanged.
Mini loaves: divide among three 5 3/4 x 3-inch (15 x 8 cm) mini loaf pans and bake 35 to 45 minutes.
Walnut tea loaf: stir in 60 g (1/2 cup) chopped walnuts with the flour; bake time unchanged.
Malted version: replace 50 g of the sugar with 50 g (2 1/2 tbsp) malt extract stirred into the hot tea.

Estimated · per serving

Nutrition

Per serving = 1 of 12 servings this recipe makes.

217 Calories / serving

0.8g Fat

51.4g Carbs

3.5g Protein

29.4g Sugar

Whole recipe (12 servings): ~2604 cal · 10g fat · 617g carbs · 42g protein · 353g sugar

Estimated values per serving, calculated from standard ingredient data. Not verified Nutrition Facts; actual values vary with brands, measurements, and preparation.