Fruity, moist and excellent slathered in a thick later of salty butter, this Fruit Loaf recipe will keep you coming back for more!
If you’ve visited here in search of Tea Loaf, then I’ll direct you back towards Google, ’cause this isn’t a Tea Loaf. It’s very similar, I grant you, but I don’t use any tea in the making of this recipe.
Why? Because it’s how my Gran made it.
Origins of my Scottish Fruit Loaf
My Gran is half Welsh and half Scottish, and her fruit loaf recipe was hand written in her book of recipes bound together on odd bits of paper with tape. It was recently transferred into a ring binder to keep them all together, as you can see below how old the paper is. The recipe on the left is the one we’re recreating.
I’ve converted the recipe from cups (not American cups) as she used to measure quantities using a very specific cup from her cupboard. So in order to share that recipe with others, or make it myself, I had to convert it. Let me tell you – there were LOTS of trials.
Too much cake batter, too little cake batter, too dry, not cooked in the middle. And that’s the joy with making cakes sometimes; you need to trial them a few times to get the timings and quantities right.
But I’ll share a couple of essential tips and tricks I’ve learned from all those trials to save you the hassle! And since I’m posting this just before Christmas, let me tell you it’s the perfect cake to make that will last ages and see you (and guests?) through the festive season!
How To Make The Perfect Fruit Loaf
Do NOT swap margarine with butter.
Trust me, I’ve tried it; as I’m all about ‘real food’. But there are some applications where margarine is needed, and this is one of them.
Much like in carrot cake where you add oil for moistness, we need the oils from the Flora to help make this cake moist. If you use butter, it becomes dry and crumbly unfortunately.
Cover the Fruit Loaf with tinfoil half way through the cook.
This helps to maintain the perfect golden topping, rather than it getting too brown.
3. Remove it from the baking tin once it’s out the oven.
As it isn’t a dense fruit loaf (cake), you should remove it from the tin to cool down. If you don’t, it will continue to cook and sweat. And ultimately result in a soggy bottom, and no one wants that.
Ingredients for Fruit Loaf
Currants
Sultanas
If you want to get only one or the other, I would recommend using Sultanas as they’re juicier. They’ll absorb more of the moisture when simmering and expand to take in all that flavour.
Sugar: granulated or caster sugar works well
Margarine: like I say above, DO NOT substitute this for butter – it won’t work.
Water
Eggs
Self Raising Flour: if you don’t have self-raising flour then substitute with plain flour and 3 tsp basking powder. I haven’t trialled this myself, but I found a good resource from Charlotte’s Lively Kitchen who suggests 1 tsp of baking powder per 100g of plain flour.
Method for Fruit Loaf Recipe
Add currents, sultanas, sugar, margarine, water) to large pot (big enough you can add the flour later).
Bring it to the boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for approx 10-15 minutes.
Take off the heat and allow to cool (at least half an hour). Whisk 2 eggs and stir through the mixture once it’s cooled. Mix through 325 g self raising flour then transfer into baking tin with grease proof paper.
Cook in oven for 30 minutes, then take it out and cover with tinfoil before returning to oven for another 25 minutes (this will ensure the top doesn’t burn whilst the inside cooks). Remove from loaf tin and allow to cool on wire rack for 30 minutes before cutting into it.
I recommend eating a slice spread thickly with salted butter and a warm cup of tea.
FAQs
9 x 5 x 2.5 inches / 23 x 13 x 6 cm
Don’t do it! It makes the cake dry and crumbly, instead of moist and light.
Storage
Fruit Loaf is an excellent cake to make for the festive season as it lasts throughout. But I guess that’s only if you manage to eat it slowly.
Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. Go on, see if it lasts that long!
You can also freeze the fruit loaf too! Will store for 3 months in the freezer.
And finally …
If you like this recipe, please either leave me a review below or a comment and tell me your thoughts. Every single one is read and appreciated.
If you want to try some more sweet treats, then why not take a look at my Mars Bar Traybake or Passionfruit Cheesecake with Lime?
Fruit Loaf (My Scottish Gran’s Recipe)
Ingredients
- 125 g currents
- 125 g sultanas
- 180 g sugar granulated or caster
- 100 g margarine I use Flora original
- 200 ml water
- 2 eggs whisked
- 325 g self raising flour or plain (all purpose flour) with 1 tsp baking powder
Instructions
- Add 125 g currents, 125 g sultanas, 180 g sugar, 100 g margarine, 200 ml water) to large pot (big enough you can add the flour later)
- Bring it to the boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for approx 10-15 minutes
- Take off the heat and allow to cool (at least half an hour)
- Whisk 2 eggs and stir through the mixture once it's cooled
- Pre Heat oven to 190C (fan) / 210C conventional / 375F
- Mix through 325 g self raising flour then transfer into baking tin with grease proof paper
- Cook in oven for 30 minutes, then take it out and cover with tinfoil before returning to oven for another 25 minutes (this will ensure the top doesn't burn whilst the inside cooks)
- Check the fruit loaf by inserting a skewer / knife and checking if it comes out clean – every oven is different so I suggest doing this the first few times until you confirm timings for your own oven.
- Remove from loaf tin and allow to cool on wire rack for 30 minutes before cutting into it.
2 responses
I haven’t tried to make it but it looks and sounds lovely. Can I use butter instead of margarine for this? Novice question I imagine. Just want to get it right!
I actually have a specific section in the blog post above, which says why you shouldn’t use butter instead (I’ve tried it) 🙂 give it a read and you’ll understand why