‘Ello to Yorkshire Brack

Yorkshire Brack

We’re very proud of our Yorkshire heritage, especially where food is concerned. When I went to talk to a local group about Grandma’s baking, Barrie proudly gave me his Yorkshire Brack tea loaf recipe. Although I am a Yorkshire lass, I hadn’t come across this recipe before. I’ve amended it slightly by reducing the amount of sugar and adding a little lemon juice to the mixture. There’s no fat in this tea loaf and it keeps well for a few days – that’s if you can resist it.

Yorkshire Brack

150 ml/¼ pint hot tea (preferably Yorkshire Tea *)

225g/8oz sultanas

110g/4 oz raisins

110g/4 oz currants

50g/mixed peel

75g/3 oz demerara sugar

1 egg

225g/8oz self raising flour

 1 tbsp lemon juice

Mix together the dried fruit and sugar and soak in the hot tea. Cover and leave overnight so the fruit becomes plump. Add the egg to the mixture and beat well. Stir in the flour. Line a ½ kg/1lb loaf tin. Put the mixture into the tin and bake in a preheated oven 160 C, 325 F, Mark 3 for about 1½ to 1¾ hours. 

Meryl says : *To make this loaf, it does taste best when the fruit is soaked in Yorkshire Tea of course but you can get a different flavour if you use Assam or Earl Grey teas.

Barrie told me that his wife had sadly died a couple of years previously and that she was a great cook. He’d decided to start baking. He had picked up his wife’s Bero recipe book and was working his way through it but this is his favourite recipe. Serve as a teabread with lashings of butter. 

Many thanks to Barrie for sharing his recipe – have you got a recipe to share? 

Valentine Biscuits for your Heart’s desire

I've been using Grandma’s popular Shortbread recipe to bake Valentine biscuits. Pop a glace cherry on each biscuit or try crystallised ginger pieces, cranberries or almonds instead. 

Valentine Shortbread biscuits

10 oz/ 275g  butter

1 lb / 450g plain flour

6 oz / 175g caster sugar

2 yolks of eggs

Glace cherries to decorate

Rub the butter into the flour and add the sugar. Then add the egg yolks and work into the flour as quickly as possible, making a dry dough. Chill for around 15 minutes then roll out to about ½ inch/1 cm thick and cut into Valentine shapes. Put a cherry on top. Bake for 25 minutes in a slow oven. (300F, Mark 2, 150C). Makes about 30 biscuits.   

My Valentine shaped cutter comes in handy for these biscuits

 ValentineGingerbread biscuits  

Oat Ginger biscuits

or bake a heart shaped cake like this Valentine Cake.  

Your Valentine won’t be able to resist the appeal of home baking straight out of the oven! So what are you baking for a Happy Valentine’s Day?