Malty goodness...

In a moment of sheer madness, I have decided to go cold turkey on the chocolate and peanut-butter combo. Well, OK, I will make an exception for a spot of Nutella and PB on toast every so often, but in terms of cake- and treat-making, I am abstaining. If there was a badge for this sort of thing (the kind that teetotallers wear perhaps?), I could pin in to my collar as a constant reminder to be good.

'But why?' I hear you cry. Why indeed. The fog of madness has yet to clear, but I am sure there's a good reason in there somewhere. Maybe it's a fear that one day, if I'm not careful, I might grow tired of it (surely not). Certainly, there's no harm in having a little break (last week's post made me realise I was somewhat obsessed); absence makes the heart grow fonder and all that. In the meantime, I can enjoy baking something new (yes, that is the fabulous malt loaf you see in the picture) and get re-acquainted with some old favourites (Christmas baking here I come).

So on to more important things - the malt loaf. A very tasty treat indeed. If I had to describe it somehow, it's like tea-brack on speed. All the satisfyingly dense fruitiness of the tea-brack, with a kick of malty goodness thrown in to bring an element of comfort to the whole experience. There's something about the flavour of malt that makes me feel like I'm wrapped in a duvet, sitting in a big cosy armchair in front of a roaring fire. A cup of Ovaltine has the same effect, but is (obviously) limited in its application. The malt loaf on the other hand, keeps well for ages and is (most importantly) portable. It tasted just as good sitting in my car on a break from field-walking last week, as it did when I ate it in the more civilised surrounds of Mam's kitchen, with a cup of coffee to hand.

It's also incredibly easy to make - pretty much melt, stir and bake. I found the original recipe online, on the BBC Good Food website (a brilliant resource for recipes of all sorts by the way), but tweaked it a little, reducing the sugar and enriching it with a little butter (how can that be bad, as the Barefoot Contessa might say). For those of you who like to use Spelt flour - I tried it and it works wonderfully, though it produces a slightly more dense loaf. Mam and No.3 Sister preferred the Spelt version, though myself and No.1 Sister were fans of the regular flour loaf. If you want to try the Spelt flour option, simply replace the plain flour in the recipe with the same weight in Spelt. I've written the recipe out below, so fellow bakers, it's over to you.


Now just one teensy little confession before I go: I ate some M&Ms of the peanut variety today (I'm weak) and in a rather exciting moment, I found a doubler - a super-sized, siamese-twin peanut M&M. It's moments like this that make a day perfect.




Malted Fruit Loaf
Ingredients

150ml hot black tea

175g malt extract (the original recipe uses extra malt extract to glaze the loaf when it comes out of the oven - it was nice, but incredibly sticky. I didn't glaze it the second time and found it to be just as good, though my sister would beg to differ. So by all means, give the glaze a go).

65g dark muscovado sugar

20g (salted) butter

300g mixed dried fruits (I used a mixture of sultanas, raisins, currants and chopped prunes - take my word for it on the prune-front. They are soft, moist and almost melt into the loaf - but really, it's up to you)

2 large eggs, beaten

250g plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

Method:

1. Heat oven to 150C/130C fan/gas 2. Line the base and ends of two greased 450g/1lb non-stick loaf tins with strips of baking parchment. Alternatively, do as I did the second time round and bake one big loaf in a larger tin (bigger slices people) - it should take roughly the same amount of time. Just check it after 50mins - it may need an extra few mins.
2. Melt the butter in a large pot and add the hot tea, malt, sugar and dried fruit. Stir well, then add the eggs.
3. Tip in the flour, then quickly stir in the baking powder and bicarbonate of soda and pour into the prepared tins (or tin). Bake for 50 mins until firm and well risen. If you want to glaze it, do it while still warm, brushing with a little malt extract to glaze and leave to cool.
4. Remove from the tins. If you can bear not to eat it straight away, it gets more sticky after wrapping and keeping for 2-5 days. Serve sliced and buttered, if you like (and I do!).