Sunday 4 September 2011

Tea Cup Loaf

Kitchen Play List: Pixie Lott ~ Cry Me Out
                                     Shelly Campbell ~ Driving You
                                     The Gossip ~ Jealous Girls
                                     Gun N Roses ~ Yesterdays
                                     Whitesnake ~ Too Many Tears
                                     Ella Fitzgerald ~ Let's Do It

Oh my goodness...how excited was this tea cup collecting foodie, when she found this recipe in an old cookbook?? Too excited for words! lol. Especially after I had owned this cookbook for years..lol. The recipe was naturally vegan so I didn't have to experiment with veganising it. And I got to use a tea cup to make it! Excellent! 

It was very easy to make as the majority of the ingredients go straight into a pan and are brought to a boil and then cooked for a few minutes...cooled and then mixed in with the flour and mace and then baked. So far so good. 

Now I have an oven that is on its last legs so food will be cooking at its correct temperature and I'll walk away for a split second (OK maybe five minutes..lol) I will go back to check..the oven temperature will have gone up by 25 degrees. I know this because the independent thermometer is registering at the higher temprature!! URGH!

So I go back to the oven and my lovely golden Tea Cup Loaf is a little darker...ok..alot! And the thermometer is reading 375 degrees! Dammit! So I pop a quick tin foil cover over it and leave it to finish its time. I don't know if it's my oven problem or the recipe is timing is all out...but a friendly warning...take care with the loaf. lol. 

Despite the slightly darker outside...the cake smells divine. My sister and My Love taste tested as it came out of the oven and decreed it was a very 'yummy and tasty' cake. The rest of us waited until it had cooled and enjoyed it with vegan margarine. It is very enjoyable and the many layers of flavour work well together. The original recipe calls for currants but I'm not the biggest fan of them and I didn't have any so I used dark raisins instead. I will be making this again...if you make it let me know how you get on? 

I take no credit for this recipe but I have to confess it's inspired me to make other variations from it...it's creator is Carolyn Humphries cookbook The Classic 1000 Vegetarian Recipes

Tea Cup Loaf with a beautiful cup of tea...in a beautiful tea cup and saucer! lol
Tea Cup Loaf Makes 1 2lb loaf
(Recipe from The Classic 1000 Vegetarian Recipes/Humphries)

1/2 teacup margarine
1 teacup sultanas
1/2 teacup currants (I used raisins)
1/2 teacup chopped almonds
1 teacup light brown sugar
1/2 teacup fresh orange juice
1/2 teacup cold black tea
2 teacups self raising wholemeal flour
1/2 tsp ground mace

Using  a teacup to measure the ingredients (Using the same one for all measurements to ensure the balance is right), put all the ingredients except the flour and mace in a saucepan. Bring to the boil, stirring until the margarine has melted, then boil for 2 minutes. Fold in the flour and mace and turn into a lined 2lb loaf tin. Bake in a preheated oven at 180'C/350'F/Gas Mark 4 for about 1 1/4 hours or until risen, golden and skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Loosen the edges, turn out on to a rack, remove the paper and leave to cool. 

Serve with vegan margarine or on it's own with a nice cup of tea. 

A close up of the tea cup...Oops I mean the Tea Cup Loaf! lol
Enjoy!
~R~