low fat – Bit of the Good Stuff

* This recipe was originally posted in March 2014. The page was updated in August 2019.

It might be old-fashioned, but tea loaf rocks! It’s perfect for serving for ‘elevenses’ or as a mid-afternoon ‘pick me up’ with a lovely cup of tea. It also makes a tasty after-school or travel snack. This is one of my all-time favourite treats for road trips!

I have my mum’s friend to thank for the recipe. I arrived at my mum’s house one day to discover this incredible smell wafting out of the kitchen. It turned out to be this tea loaf!

Back home, I couldn’t wait to have a try at making my own. The original recipe contained egg but I omitted the egg, tweaked the wet/dry ratio a little and it turned out absolutely fine. My family can’t actually tell the difference!

Old Fashioned English Tea Loaf (Vegan | Dairy-Free)

As cakes go, this tea loaf is pretty healthy. It’s filled with nutrient-rich dried fruits, whole grain flour, and it’s fat free!

It’s incredibly easy to make too. You simply soak the dried fruit in a cup of tea for a few hours, then mix all the ingredients together and bake.

Recipe Card

Old Fashioned English Tea Loaf

It might be old-fashioned, but tea loaf rocks! It's perfect for serving for 'elevenses' or as a mid-afternoon 'pick me up'. It also makes a delicious after-school and travel snack. It's incredibly easy to make. You simply soak the dried fruit in a cup of tea for a few hours, then mix all the ingredients together and bake.

5 from 9 votes

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Hands-on time 10

Total Time 6

Course Afternoon Tea, Dessert, Elevenses, Snack, Treat

Cuisine English

Servings 10

Ingredients

▢ 250 ml / 1 cup strongly brewed tea
▢ 225 g / 1½ cups mixed dried fruit*
▢ 113 g / ½ cup unrefined cane sugar(e.g. golden caster) or coconut sugar
▢ 1 TBSP marmalade or apricot jam
▢ 227 g / 1⅔ cups fine wholemeal (whole wheat pastry) or chapatti flour
▢ 2 tsp baking powder
▢ 1 tsp ground cinnamon or mixed spice
▢ 3 TBSP water

Instructions

Soak the dried fruit in the brewed tea for 4-5 hours (can be left overnight).
Grease a 2lb loaf pan and line the bottom with non-stick baking paper (or use a non-stick loaf liner).
Pre-heat the oven to 160C (160C for fan also) / 325F.
Tip the dried fruit and any remaining tea into a mixing bowl. Stir in the sugar and marmalade/jam. Sift in the flour, baking powder and spice. Add 3 TBSP water and stir until thoroughly combined.
Tip the mixture into the prepared tin and level the top.
Bake for 1¼ hours, or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Leave to rest in the tin for 30 minutes or so, then transfer to a wire rack until completely cooled.
Stored in an airtight container, the loaf will keep for up to five days in the fridge. It also freezes well.

Notes

* I often use raisins, sultanas, goji berries, candied citrus peel.

Keyword Dairy-Free, Egg-Free, Tea Loaf, Vegan Cake, Vegan Treats

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English Tea Loaf (Dairy-Free | Fat-Free | Vegan)

If you make this Tea Loaf (or any other recipes on my blog), I’d love to hear your feedback and any suggestions for adaptations! Tag your photos with #bitofthegoodstuff on social media – I always love to see your creations! You can also connect with me on my social media channels here: Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest.

With love,

Sharon xx

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I love making chocolate banana ice cream! (aka ‘Nicecream’) It’s so simple and cheap to make (costing literally a few pence per serving), yet it feels like a real treat. It also happens to be packed full of healthy ingredients, including an array of minerals and antioxidant goodness.

I’ve been making banana ice cream for a few years now, and have learnt a few tricks along the way to make the process even quicker and easier. For example, I used to slice the bananas into discs and arrange them in single layers in freezer bags prior to freezing, however I’ve since discovered that whole bananas can easily be sliced from frozen using a sharp knife! These days, I simply pop whole bananas in the freezer stacked in plastic containers with a layer of parchment paper in between to stop them sticking together.

For ice cream desserts, I’ve also learnt to reduce the amount of milk that I add to the bananas so that it can be served instantly as soft-serve. When I’m in the mood for banana ice cream, the last thing I want to do is wait two hours for it to freeze.

For a more ‘grown up’ banana ice cream dessert, I love the idea of adding some strong coffee into the blend to create a mocha flavour. You could even serve it in an Espresso Cup to make it look extra fancy. If serving to children, however, it’s probably best to forego the coffee otherwise they may be up all night buzzing from the caffeine!

One of my personal favourite (kid-friendly) additions to banana ice cream is nut butters. Almond, hazelnut and peanut butters all add a gorgeous flavour as well as lending some extra creaminess to the blend.