Barm Brack

 I'm beginning my Saint Patrick's Day preparations today by making my Barm Brack, or Speckled Bread.  You've got plenty of time to get yours started, too!

 Barm Brack

Ingredients:

2 cups (1 pound) flour

3/4 c. sugar

1 lb.  dried fruit

8 oz. raisins and currants

4 oz. mixed dried berries

4 oz. dates

1 tsp baking powder

1 egg

1 tsp all spice/mixed spice

Pot of hot Twinings Irish Breakfast tea

Soak fruit for several hours in tea.   Drain fruit, reserving the liquid.  Measure 1 cup liquid into bowl of stand mixer and add the sugar and egg in low until just mixed.  Add  in the dry ingredients and then, a little at a time, add enough of the tea liquid to make a batter.  Gently mix in the drained fruit. Bake in a 7" round cake pan at 350°F for 80 minutes. Test with toothpick.  Remove from pan and cool on a wire rack.

The Brack can be made up to a week in advance and stored in an air-tight

container.

For fun, you can add some 'lucky' ingredients to the batter before baking:

- a 'gold' ring, to foretell marriage within a year

- a small coin, to forecast wealth

- a small piece of cloth to forecast poverty

- a little piece matchstick to forecast the husband will beat his wife

- a thimble to forecast spinsterhood

- a button to forecast bachelorhood

Method:

Wrap each 'lucky' item carefully in parchment paper and distribute evenly in the pan.

Adapted from Irish Customs and Culture

Comments

[Janet]

That looks really good. I may have to try it!