Free From Earl Grey Fruit Loaf

I did everything as written in the recipe, except for, I covered the cake with foil for the first 25 minutes of baking. It came out delicious and it has enough moisture to be eaten without butter.

This teacake is robust yet moist and does not need to be eaten with butter, though I'm sure it would be fine with it. It is a great way of using up any leftover dried fruit in the larder. I happened to have prunes, raisins and cranberries. I have made some substitutions: white spelt flour for gluten-free flour and molasses sugar + maple syrup for soft brown sugar. I noticed that the overall mixture seemed quite runny after adding the oil. (I chose walnut oil.) However, the final cake was quite strong,so don't be concerned if yours also seems runny. I left the cake in the oven for 42 minutes, which was probably a touch too long since the top was slightly dark. Had I noticed earlier, I might have covered it in foil for the last 5-10 minutes. Therefore, I suggest that you check your loaf a little earlier just in case you have the same issue! Top Tip: make sure that your earl grey tea bags are as fresh as possible and allow them a little time with the boiling water on their own before adding the fruit for a stronger flavour. (Mine wasn't terribly strong.) You could also add a cardamom pod to the tea at the beginning for additional flavour - so long as you remember to take it out before baking! Enjoy, bakers!