This English Earl Grey Fruit Cake is a delicious and healthy treat without nasty ingredients. Easy to make, flavorful and pairs perfectly with your morning cup of tea or coffee. The recipe is Oil-free and Refined-Sugar free.
Sweet Treat You Can Eat Without A Guilt
If you're trying to follow a healthy diet free of nasty ingredients, this easy Tea Loaf is a must.
I first saw this Tea Loaf Cake recipe is Jamie's Oliver's Great Britain cookbook and it took me a few attempts to make this recipe Whole Foods Plant Based compliant.
After numerous testing and tweaking, I'm happy to report that I came up with a healthy version of this traditional British recipe.
This delicious Earl Grey Loaf is juicy from all those dried fruits, flavorful - thanks to simple spices and absolutely delicious. You can have it for dessert or breakfast recipe and it's perfect to satisfy your sweet tooth at any time of the day.
Ingredients
My favorite part about this Vegan Tea Bread is that it's made with simple ingredients that are staple in many kitchens.
- Earl Grey Tea Bags - in reality you can make this recipe with other types of Black tea like Darjeeling or Irish Breakfast tea
- Dried fruits - raisins, dried cranberries or dried cherries are all great options. If you're trying to avoid processed sugar, make sure cranberries and cherries are sugar-free
- Orange and lime zest and juice - for flavor and juiciness
- Spices - pumpkin pie spice, nutmeg
- Maple syrup - for sweetness
- Leavening and binding ingredients - baking powder and Plant Based Egg (see the recipe notes for substitution tips)
- Nut milk - I used Almond milk, but you can replace with water
Storage
This Earl Grey Fruit cake will keep for 4 to 5 days in a fridge. Make sure to place it in the airtight container with a lid to prevent from drying out.
You can also freeze it. Tightly wrap in parchment paper and store for up to 3 months.
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Recipe
Earl Grey Fruit Cake
Ingredients
For the Dried Fruit Mixture
- 3 Earl Grey tea bags
- ¾ c boiling water
- 10 oz dried fruit raisins, cranberries, cherries
- 1 orange zested
For the Batter
- 2 c - 2 tbsp Whole Wheat Pastry Flour you may use All-purpose flour if you like, see Note 1
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
- 2 teaspoon Plant-Based Egg see Note 2
- 1 ½ tablespoon plant milk
- ½ c Maple syrup
- 1 small orange juiced
For a Syrup
- 2 Earl Grey tea bags
- ⅓ c water
- 1 lime or ½ lemon juiced and zested
- 3 tablespoon Maple syrup
Instructions
To make Dried Fruit Mixture
- In a large bowl add Earl Grey tea bags, ¾ c of boiling water and steep for 5 minutes. Remove the tea bags, carefully squeeze all liquid out of them and to the same bowl add dried fruits and orange zest. Mix everything nicely and set aside for a minimum of 2 hours (better overnight) to allow the dried fruit to soak up all the tea.
To make the Batter
- Preheat the oven to 350 F and line a 1-pound Loaf pan with a parchment paper.
- In a bowl with dried fruit mixture add flour, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, nutmeg and Plant Based Egg. Give everything a quick stir and add plant milk, Maple syrup and juice of 1 small orange. Mix until you have a thick batter.
- Spoon the batter into a loaf pan and cook for 1 hour - 1 hour and 10 minutes. (After 1 hour mark check the doneness of a loaf with a toothpick. It should come out clean).
To make a Syrup
- Meanwhile, in a small saucepan add 2 Earl Grey tea bags, water, lime or lemon zest and juice and bring everything to a boil. After 2 minutes remove the tea bags, add Maple syrup and bring it to a boil once again. Continue cooking the syrup on a medium-high heat until the liquid reduces by half, about 5 to 10 minutes.
- Remove cake from the oven and liberally poke it with a toothpick or a skewer. Pour the syrup all over the cake, transfer it to a wire rack and leave it to cool completely before slicing.
Notes
Nutrition
Iryna Bychkiv is the founder and writer of the culinary website Lavender & Macarons, where she shares clean, European-inspired recipes that are delicious, easy to prepare, and made with wholesome ingredients. Iryna loves creating meals that are simple yet healthy and unique, including vegan and vegetarian recipes.
Iryna is also a freelance writer for MSN and Associated Press Wire.
Gary says
If using chia egg, so I use the full amount of the recipe provided, or make that and use the 2 teaspoons called for in the recipe? Thanks.
Iryna Bychkiv says
You would need to use the full amount of the recipe provided. So, 1 tbsp of chia seed meal dissolved in 2 1/2 tbsp of cold water.
Sharon says
I undertand your vegan approach, but for gluten intolerance, have you made it with gluten free flours?
Iryna says
Sharon, unfortunately I haven't tried making this recipe with GF flours.