Irish Hawthorn Barmbrack
Our take on this delightful divination cake involves a hearty helping of Hawthorn berries. As explored in our latest book, Hedgerow Festival, this is well regarded as the most magical tree in Ireland- well suited to a cake as mystical as this one. If using Hawthorn Berries, be sure to remove the pips as they contain a form of cyanide. A pip or two won't harm you, but a cake-full might!
Ingredients
- 3-4 Cups Hawthorn Berries (de-pipped), Or Raisins
- 1/2 Cup Roughly Chopped Hazelnuts
- 1 1/3 Cups Brown Sugar
- Zest of 1 Lemon
- 2 Cups Strong Black Tea Hot
- 2 Eggs Beaten
- 4 Tbsp Butter
- 2 tsp Warming Winter Spices (like cinnamon, cardamom and nutmeg)
- 1 Pinch Salt
- 3 Cups Self-raising flour
- Charms
Instructions
- To get started, we’re going to slightly dehydrate your de-pipped hawthorn berries- this will help them to take up the flavour of the tea later. Simply pop them in the oven on a low heat until the dry out and wrinkle a little
- Next, we’ll soak the nuts and berries. Grab a bowl and pour in your berries, nuts, spices, sugar and hot tea. Give it a stir to dissolve the sugar and cover with a clean tea towel. The longer you soak the berries, the juicier the final cake will be. We recommend soaking them overnight, but anything over an hour will do.
- Preheat the oven to 180C.
- Whisk together your flour, baking powder and pinch of salt.
- Slowly add in your berry-tea mix, whisking between additions.
- Whisk in your egg until well combined.
- Pour your batter into a prepared baking tin. Add your charms by pushing them into the cake a little.
- Bake for 80-90 minutes, until the cake is lightly golden and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.