5 min prep Fruit and nut soda bread
Wow, we have definitely had a dip in temperature, it’s positively freezing. I am not moaning, unlike most people I love the winter, snow and coldness. As a result of arctic conditions I can confirm it’s legit acceptable to have a carb eating fest.
Do you ever have really random cravings for things you want to cook? From somewhere in the recipe bank that is my mind, soda bread came to the fore – none of this savoury stuff, definitely had to be sweet. Nutty and fruity. My secret ingredient, are prunes. I will not disclose this to any family member as nobody will want to eat any more despite both kids wanting seconds. Let me know what you think, to me it has a festive taste with cinnamon, fruit and nuts. The deal breaker is that it only takes 5 minutes to prep and your house smells amazing whilst it’s cooking!
500 g plain flour
1 heaped tablespoon cinnamon
25g flaked almonds
75g of toasted pecan nuts
Large pinch of brown sugar for sprinkling on the top
100 g caster sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
200 g prune or raisins
1/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs
250 ml buttermilk
50 g melted butter -only just so it’s not too hot and scrambles the eggs
Mix all dry ingredients together in a stand mixer apart from the almonds
Melt the butter and add it slowly to the dry mixture
Keep your mixer on and slowly add the rest of the wet ingredients – keep a quarter of the eggs back to brush over the top.
Do not over beat or you will get a tough cake!
The mixture will be quite sticky so get some extra flour to make it less so.
Place some parchment on a baking tray and plop your bread on top in a round shape. Use a knife to make a cross through the bread but make sure to score rather than cut
Brush with the egg wash and sprinkle the sugar and almonds on top.
Place in an oven and cook for around 45 – 50 mins
It should appear glazed on top