The Belgian Tea Loaf is essentially what it claims to be: a tea loaf. The Belgian part is a bit tricky. Where that place name originated is not quite clear. Our family’s recipe dates well before my great-grandmother so sometime in the late 1800s. It could easily be called a Latvian or Peruvian tea loaf and we’d be none the wiser, but Belgian it is. Tea loaves originated in Britain, Yorkshire to be more specific, and were served, as the name implies, with afternoon tea. However, there is claim that the actual recipe of a “fruit” or “speckled” bread was the creation of a Welsh chef (name and date unknown).
The recipe is very easy to make, and it can be served as a simple dessert, a snack with tea or coffee, or on a dainty 3-level cake plate. I prefer to add some custard on top. Here’s the recipe:
Put together in a pot: 1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup sultana raisins
1 cup milk
Bring slowly to the boil, allow to cool to approximately room temperature, then add:
2 cups flour
½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. of baking soda
1 well-beaten egg
Place and mix all ingredients in a loaf tin (I recommend coating the inside of the tin with Crisco so the loaf does not stick.)
Put the oven at 375 degrees for one hour or until top is a medium to dark brown. I found it is best to place the rack in the middle.
N.B. Not all loaves will rise above the rim of the tin. Don’t despair. It’s just a little smaller and darker but still as tasty!
Interesting overview Fraser. I was introduced to tea loaf as a Yorkshire dish, but so many different cultures claim it as their own.