Hairy Bikers Spicy Fruit Loaf

Hairy Bikers spicy fruit loaf is a moist, no-butter tea loaf packed with sultanas, currants, glacé cherries and prunes soaked overnight in strong tea. It bakes at 160°C for 60–75 minutes and keeps for up to 2 weeks in an airtight container.

This comes from The Best of The Hairy Bikers, their compilation cookbook. The headnote says “I do like to whack some cherries in there,” and the whole tone feels personal, like a recipe passed between friends. There’s no butter or oil anywhere in the list, which makes it lighter than most fruit cakes.

The step you can’t skip is the overnight soak. Hot strong tea poured over the dried fruit softens it completely, and by morning the liquid has thickened to a syrup. That syrup provides all the moisture the loaf needs, which is how it works without any added fat.

Hairy Bikers Spicy Fruit Loaf

Recipe by Pinch PerfectCourse: DessertCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy

Servings

10

servings

Prep time

4

hours 

Cooking time

1

hour 

Calories

275

kcal

A fruit tea loaf from The Best of The Hairy Bikers that uses no butter, no oil and just 100g of sugar. The batter has a slow dropping consistency and bakes low and slow in a 900g loaf tin. Better after a day or two of maturing wrapped in foil.

Ingredients

• 150g sultanas or raisins

• 100g currants

• 100g glacé cherries, halved

• 50g prunes, roughly chopped

• 350ml hot strong tea

• 2 balls of stem ginger, finely chopped (optional)

• 100g light brown soft sugar

• 2 eggs, beaten

• 300g wholemeal or white self-raising flour

• 2 tsp mixed spice

• pinch of salt

Directions

• Soak the fruit: Put all the dried fruit into a large bowl and pour over the tea. There should be enough to completely submerge the fruit. Cover and leave to soak for several hours, or preferably overnight. The fruit will swell up and the liquid will have thickened to a syrup.
• Prepare the tin: When you are ready to bake the loaf, preheat the oven to 160°C/Fan 140°C/Gas 3 and line a large (900g) loaf tin with baking paper.
• Mix the batter: Stir the stem ginger, if using, into the fruit, followed by the sugar and the eggs. Sprinkle over the flour with the spice and a good pinch of salt, then stir everything together. The mixture should have a slow dropping consistency.
• Bake: Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 60–75 minutes. Start checking after an hour. The loaf should have shrunk away from the sides and be firm but springy when you press it. Leave it to cool in the tin.
• Mature: Remove the loaf from the tin once cool, wrap it in foil and leave it for a day or so before eating it, if possible. The top will become slightly glossy and sticky in that time. This keeps well in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Notes

• Calories: Sultanas 150g (~449) + currants 100g (~290) + glacé cherries 100g (~212) + prunes 50g (~120) + tea (~5) + stem ginger 30g (~80) + brown sugar 100g (~380) + eggs ×2 (~156) + self-raising flour 300g (~1,035) + mixed spice (~10) = ~2,737 kcal total. Official site says “Serves 4” but a 900g loaf yields approximately 10 standard slices. Per slice (÷10): ~274 kcal → 275 kcal. No calories listed on the official site.

FAQs

Why is there no butter in this recipe?

The overnight tea soak does the job that butter normally does in a cake. The dried fruit absorbs the tea and releases it slowly during baking, keeping the crumb moist without any added fat. It’s one of the reasons this loaf keeps so well for 2 weeks.

Most fruit cake recipes use 100–200g of butter, so leaving it out makes a noticeable difference to the calorie count. The texture is denser and more like a traditional Welsh bara brith or Irish barmbrack than a Victoria sponge. If you’ve tried the cinnamon swirls, this is a very different style of bake.

How long should I soak the fruit?

Overnight is best, which is what Si and Dave recommend. The fruit needs time to fully absorb the tea, swell up and release its natural sugars into the liquid. By morning you’ll see the tea has turned into a thick, dark syrup.

If you’re short on time, 4 hours is the bare minimum. Anything less and the fruit won’t be soft enough, which means dry pockets in the finished loaf. I’ve tried soaking for just 2 hours and the difference in moisture was obvious.

Can I use wholemeal or white flour?

Si and Dave give you the choice of wholemeal or white self-raising flour. Wholemeal makes a denser, nuttier loaf with more fibre. White gives a lighter, more cake-like texture that rises slightly higher.

I prefer wholemeal for this recipe because the heavier crumb suits the weight of the soaked fruit. The dried fruit and mixed spice have enough flavour to carry either option, so it really comes down to what you like. Don’t use plain flour though, as the self-raising is doing the work of the leavening agent.

How do I know when it’s done?

Si and Dave say to start checking after an hour. The loaf is ready when it shrinks from the sides and feels firm but springy on top. If it wobbles or leaves a deep dent when pressed, give it another 10 minutes.

A skewer pushed into the centre should come out clean or with just a few moist crumbs. The bake time varies between 60 and 75 minutes depending on your oven and whether you used wholemeal or white flour. Wholemeal tends to need the full 75 minutes.

Why does it taste better after a couple of days?

Si and Dave say to wrap it in foil and leave it for a day before slicing, and they’re right. The moisture from the soaked fruit redistributes through the crumb as it rests. Every slice ends up evenly moist rather than damp in the middle and dry at the edges.

The top develops a glossy, slightly sticky surface during that resting time, which is a sign the sugars have set properly. Slicing it fresh from the oven is tempting but the texture is crumbly and the flavour hasn’t settled yet.

How do I store this loaf?

Wrap it tightly in foil or keep it in an airtight container at room temperature. Si and Dave say it keeps for up to 2 weeks, which is exceptional for a cake with no butter. The lack of dairy is exactly why it lasts so long.

Don’t refrigerate it, as the cold dries out the crumb. If you want to freeze slices, wrap them individually in cling film and they’ll keep for up to 3 months. Toast frozen slices under the grill with a scrape of butter for the best way to bring them back.