400g dried fruit (I used raisins, dried pineapple, cranberries and mixed peel)
300ml hot Irish black tea
50ml Jameson Whiskey
dough
250g flour
125g brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp clove
¼ tsp nutmeg
1 egg
1 heaped tsp dried orange zest
Instructions
Chop the dried fruit if necessary so that everything is the size of the raisins. Put in bowl, cover with tea and whiskey and let soak overnight. If it's too late for that, let it at least soak for an hour!
Put the fruit into a sieve but save the tea/whiskey liquid.
Prepare a loaf tin: coat with butter and line with a stripe of baking paper for easy lifting. Preheat oven to 170°C (325° F).
For the dough put all the dry ingredients into a bowl and mix a bit with a wooden spoon. Add the egg and the retained liquid from soaking the fruit. Mix until combined. The dough should be quite wet!
Now add the fruit and fold in. Be careful to not break it up too much.
Put the dough into the loaf tin and bake in the oven for 1 hour.
The Barmbrack is ready when an inserted wooden skewer comes out clean (no unbaked dough)!
Let cool completely then slice up generously (a bread slicing machine worked perfect) put some butter on top and ENJOY!!
Notes
The Barmbrack even tastes better the next day!
Recipe by ginger, lemon & spice at http://gingerlemonandspice.com/2014/03/barmbrack/