A British classic (actually Scottish… thanks to Mr Montgomerie!), Malt Loaf is a perfect pick-me-up for those in a rush or something indulgent with a cup of tea as a snack in the afternoon at your desk. This recipe will produce a loaf that is less chewy but more fruit laden than the supermarket variety but still packing a malty sweet punch. The dried fruit should be soaked in a strong black tea adding richness and a little mixed spice for background. Serve preferably with butter after being partially toasted, as the loaf holds a fair amount of moisture giving it the most amazing texture. Also enjoyable cold!
Personally I’d rather go for a larger loaf versus the usual 450 Gram loaf tin (small AKA 1lb loaf tin) as for convenience I will slice this larger loaf into 12 slices and then freeze for lunches (this also works out to around 220 calories a piece, not too bad for a mid afternoon snack I suppose!).
Ingredients List:
- 2 Eggs, beaten.
- 250G Plain Flour.
- 85G Light brown sugar.
- 1/2 Tsp mixed spice, you can omit this or even substitute with freshly grated nutmeg!
- 175G Malt Extract.
- 150ml Hot Black Tea.
- 300G Dried fruit, sultanas work well.
- 0.75 Tsp baking powder.
- 0.5 Tsp Bicarbonate Of Soda.
Method:
- Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 2 (130C for fan assisted ovens), then grease and line a 900G (2lb) loaf tin. You can usually get away with lining the base only, with good non-stick coated tins.
- Brew and measure out your tea and combine with the dried fruit and mixed spice, let infuse for 10 minutes.
- Add the sugar, malt extract and eggs whilst mixing well. Add the flour as well as the bicarbonate of soda and baking powder, quickly stir before finally pouring into the loaf tin.
- Bake for around 1 hour, checking it around the 45 to 50 minute mark. Once cooked (using a skewer to check) let cool before removing from the tin. Serve the malt loaf sliced then toasted and buttered with a suitable cup of tea.