Irish Barmbrack | Irish Halloween Cake
A spiced tea cake from Ireland that is studded with tea-soaked dried fruit. This cake is very often eaten for Halloween and charms are hidden inside -- a ring, a bean/pea, a cloth, and a coin. If you find a charm in your slice, it is supposed to tell your fortune. A ring means you will marry, a bean/pea means you will not marry, a cloth means you will be poor, and a coin means you will be wealthy. Include this fun game and yummy cake at your next Halloween party!
Ingredients
- 475 ml strong black tea 2 cups
- 130 grams raisins 1 cup
- 100 grams mixed dried fruit such as dried currants and golden raisins (sultanas) ¾ cup
- 2 tbsp chopped candied lemon peel
- 3 tbsp chopped candied orange peel
- 280 grams all-purpose flour 2 ¼ cups
- 65 grams light brown sugar ⅓ cup
- 2¼ tsp baking soda
- 1¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- 1 egg lightly beaten
- 80 ml whole milk ⅓ cup
- 100 grams unsalted butter, melted 7 tbsp
- 2-4 tbsp honey
Instructions
- Brew strong black tea and soak the dried fruit and candied peel for at least two hours. It can be left as long as overnight.
- Drain the dried fruit but reserve the liquid.
- In a large bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, spices, and baking soda.
- Make a well in the center and add the egg, milk, and melted butter. Stir until roughly combined. Streaks of flour will still be visible.
- Add in the drained fruit and peel and stir until it comes together. Add some of the reserved tea in a tablespoon at a time until a thick but spreadable cake batter is formed.
- Pour the batter into a 9 inch springform pan lined on the bottom with parchment paper. Smooth the batter evenly up to the sides of the pan.
- Bake in a 160℃ / 325℉ pre-heated oven for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- When the cake is finished baking, pour a couple of tablespoons of honey onto the surface of the cake and brush it evenly with a pastry brush. Put the cake back into the oven for 5 minutes to allow the honey to melt and glaze the top of the cake.
- Let the cake cool on a rack for 10 minutes and then remove it from the springform pan to finish cooling completely.
- If you want to add charms to your cake, flip your completely cooled cake over onto a plate and make small slits on the bottom of the cake with a knife and slide your charms into each slit. Flip it back over and serve. Make sure to warn those that you are serving it to that there might be non-edible pieces in their slice of cake.
Video
Notes
Charms:
Ring - you will get married
Bean or pea - you will remain single
Cloth - you will be poor
Coin - you will be rich