Yorkshire Tea Loaf

December 27, 2020 by Lynn Hill 60 Comments

Yorkshire Tea Loaf is a deliciously moist, Fruit Loaf. The fruit for this Fruit Loaf recipe is soaked overnight in Yorkshire tea and is often served on its own or with Wensleydale cheese. It's a perfect addition to any Afternoon Tea menu. Or on its own with a nice cup of tea.

Yorkshire Tea Loaf, cup of yorkshire tea

Yorkshire Tea loaf on a plate with a Yorkshire Tea, tea caddy.

Jump to:

Soaking the Fruit
Lining the Tins
Mixing the Ingredients
Baking Time
FAQs and Tips about Tea Loaves
Other Traditional Yorkshire Recipes
Yorkshire Tea Loaf
Comments

It may be a Yorkshire thing, which is where I live in the UK, but cheese goes really well with rich fruit cake or any tea loaf.

Many people have said to me that this is the best tea loaf recipe they have made. I've made dozens of them over the years. It retains moisture when wrapped well and freezes well too.

Watch the video to see step by step instructions. Or print off the recipe card, scroll down to the bottom of this post, to add to your collection. TIP: Click the saved button within the recipe card to save to your browser for later.

Soaking the Fruit

Freshly brewed Yorkshire Tea poured over mixed dried fruit.

Mixed Dried fruit soaking in Yorkshire Tea

To make a moist fruit tea loaf, first place the mixed dried fruit into a heat proof bowl and pour over the freshly brewed Yorkshire Tea. I always use Yorkshire Tea, but you can use any kind of breakfast tea.

TIP: In case you are wondering, this is a fat free tea loaf as it doesn't contain any butter or other fats

Cover the bowl with a clean tea towel and leave for a minimum of 4 hours. Preferable overnight. This is to allow the fruits to plump up by soaking up as much of the tea liquid as possible.

Note: There will be no need to empty any remaining tea after soaking the dried fruit. The longer you leave it, the more liquid and tea flavour the fruits soak up. That's why it's best to pour the freshly brewed, slightly cooled, tea over the fruit straight away. Just make sure that you leave the fruit to soak for a minimum of 4 hours. Preferably overnight.

Lining the Tins

In the morning, preheat the oven to 160 C fan-assisted and grease and line two 1lb loaf tins with baking parchment.

This recipe uses 2 x 1lb Loaf tins. You'll have time to plan ahead and line your tins as the fruit will require several hours of soaking in the tea.

I often need to make a fold in the centre to make sure the cake liners fit my tins correctly. If you can't get hold of cake liners, grease the sides of the tins and dust with flour, shaking off any excess flour before you add the cake batter.

Mixed Dried Fruit, eggs and sugar in a Mason Cash Mixing jug.

Mixing the Ingredients

Add the eggs into the soaked mixed fruit, followed by the sugar. DO NOT drain off any of the remaining tea liquid. Mix thoroughly.

In a separate bowl add the finely ground tea leaves to the flour and incorporate. This will help distribute the ground tea leaves evenly into the cake batter.

Give everything a thoroughly good mix making sure there are no residual bits of flour at the bottom of the mixing bowl.

Yorkshire Tea Loaf cake batter in 1lb loaf tins.

Pour the cake batter evenly into the prepared 1lb loaf tins. I often use scales to make sure that I have equal amounts of batter in each loaf tin. This ensures an even bake for each tea loaf.

Baking Time

Bake for 45 – 55 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre of each cake comes out clean. If you haven't weighed the batter evenly in each tin, you may need to adjust the baking times.

Leave in the tins to cool completely before slicing. Serve with butter and a pot of Yorkshire Tea. I often serve mine with a slice of creamy, crumbly, Wensleydale Cheese.

A Proper Brew.

For a fruit Loaf recipe, the strength of the tea depends on how long you leave the tea to brew before pouring over the dried fruit. 4 mins would be a good enough brewing time.

If you're using loose leaf tea, don't forget to strain before pouring over the dried fruits. You will of course have additional tea flavour with the finely ground tea leaves. TIP: You can of course use tea from fresh tea bags if you don't have any loose tea to hand.

If you're replacing this with complementary spices, it's even more importent to obtain a proper brew first.

FAQs and Tips about Tea Loaves

How Long Will a Yorkshire Tea Loaf Last?

A Tea Loaf will general last for up to two weeks if kept in an airtight container

Can I use Coffee instead of Tea in a Tea Loaf?

You can replace the tea with freshly brewed coffee if you wish. Or you can try these alternative recipes such as this Date and Coffee Loaf and this Mixed Fruit and Coffee Spelt Loaf. Both are equally delicious and moist.

Can I bake a Tea Loaf in a 2lb Loaf Tin?

Yes, you can but you will need to adjust the baking times and you will need to make sure that the cake batter does not fill the 2lb loaf tin any higher that ¾ full, or you may find that the batter will spill over the top.

Can I use complementary spices as an alternative to Tea Leaves.

Replace the finely ground tea with complementary spices such as mixed spices (pumpkin pie mixture or similar) or cinnamon in equal measure.

You could also use fruit flavoured teas such as Tisanes from the famous Bettys and Taylors Teas in Harrogate.

How do you Eat a Fruit Loaf?

Slice and serve with butter and a big wedge of Cheese. Preferably Wensleydale cheese which has a lovely creamy taste and a crumbly texture.

Other Traditional Yorkshire Recipes

This recipe for Yorkshire Parkin contains medium oatmeal. It is often made in early August to celebrate Yorkshire Day. Or on bonfire night on 5th November.

These Treacle, Ginger and Oat Muffins are another favourite recipe of mine with deep flavours of dark treacle.

Yorkshire Curd Tart made with Cottage Cheese is a dream to make. It uses Cottage Cheese as an alternative to fresh Curd that is normally found in a curd tart.