Moroccan Spiced Tea Cake by Helen Goh

I bake this cake for our guests at Hargan's Cottage and everybody raves about it!

Ingredients

75g currants

75g raisins

75g dried figs, chopped

75g apricots, chopped

75g prunes, chopped

250ml hot black tea

225g self-raising flour

2 tsp ras-el-hanout

¼ tsp salt

150g brown sugar

1 egg, lightly beaten

milk

salted butter, for serving

Method
1. Combine all the fruits in a bowl and pour over the hot tea. Cover and leave in a cool place overnight to allow the fruits to plump up and absorb the tea.
2. Preheat the oven to 190C (180C fan-forced), and line a 1-litre loaf tin with baking paper.

3. Sift the flour, ras-el-hanout and salt together in a large bowl, then add the brown sugar. Add the fruit mixture (including the liquid) and the egg, stirring until combined. The batter should be a dropping consistency – if it is too thick, add a little milk.

4. Scrape the cake mix into the prepared loaf tin and place in the oven for 50-55 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Remove from the oven and set aside for 10 minutes before inverting onto a cake rack to cool.

5. Slice and spread thickly with butter to serve. The cake will keep for up to three days, after which the slices may be toasted.

Recipe by Helen Goh.
Images by Belinda Satterthwaite, The Shopkeeper