West Cumberland Tea Bread Food

BARA BRITH

Steps:

• Pour hot tea over currants and raisins in a bowl; soak 8 hours to overnight.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Grease a sheet of parchment paper and use it to line a 2-pound loaf pan.
• Stir demerara sugar into tea and fruit mixture until dissolved completely.
• Mix flour and egg into the tea and fruit mixture until completely integrated into a batter.
• Spread batter evenly into the prepared bread pan.
• Bake in preheated oven until golden-brown, about 40 minutes. Cool in the bread pan 5 minutes before transferring to a rack to cool completely.

CUCUMBER TEA SANDWICHES

Steps:

• In a small bowl, mix together the butter, parsley, chives, shallot and lemon zest.
• Lay the bread slices out on a clean work surface. Spread 2 teaspoons of the compound butter over each slice of bread. Trim the cucumber slices so that they are the length of the bread slices. (Save the scraps for salads.) Lay 4 pieces of cucumber across 1 slice of buttered bread--it is okay if the cucumbers overlap. Repeat on 5 more slices of bread. Season the top of the cucumbers lightly with salt. Next, add a single layer of radishes over the cucumbers, about 12 rounds per slice of bread.
• Toss the frisee with the lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Divide the frisee evenly over the radishes. Top the frisee with the remaining 6 slices buttered bread. Cut each sandwich into thirds with a serrated knife to make small rectangles. Serve immediately.

WEST CUMBERLAND TEA BREAD

Steps:

• The day before you bake the tea bread place the mixed dried fruit into your mixing bowl and cover with the tea. Soak the fruit overnight.
• The next day add all the other ingredients to the soaked fruit and mix well.
• Pour the mixture into a greased and lined 2lb loaf tin and bake in the top oven of the Aga with the grid shelf on the oven floor and the cold plain shelf above for about 1 hour but check after about 45 minutes. A skewer inserted should come out clean.
• Turn the tea bread out onto a baking rack to cool.
• Serve sliced and buttered (optional) with a cuppa.
• For conventional ovens the temperatures are gas mark 3 or 170 degrees centigrade and cooking time will probably be 1 hour 15 mins to 1 hour 30 minutes.