Irish brack or barmbrack is a traditional fruit loaf where the fruit is soaked in sweet tea before making a quick bread. It's a perfect treat with your tea/coffee.
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Like many people, I learned a lot about cooking form my mum and have then expanded that myself as an adult to a broader range of cuisines and experimenting to suit my tastes and lifestyle. However I also have some great cooking memories with my grandpa who lived not too far from me growing up that I treasure and would happily re-live.
There are a few recipes that my mum still makes, and I do too now and then, that came from my grandparents, with this tasty fruit loaf being one of them. It is incredibly easy to make but also tasty and the perfect accompaniment to a cup of tea or coffee. Just as I remember enjoying with my grandparents.
What does Barmbrack mean?
Barmbrack is the Anglicized spelling of the Irish Gaelic name "bairín breac". This translates as "speckled loaf" which as you can see, is a pretty apt name. We always called it Irish brack, which I think is the more popular name in Scotland for is.
It doesn't use a lot of ingredients nor take a lot of steps as it's very much the kind of loaf made at home. It's perfect if you were to have guests coming over for tea or just to enjoy as a snack yourself.
For me, making it brings back a flood of fantastic memories from making bread with my grandpa, helping him with winemaking or soaking rum babas or Christmas cake to various other food tasks I was given in the kitchen or garden (I was chief apple picker quite often).
My grandmother had made the majority of food for most of their marriage, but with age my grandmother's eyesight got much worse and so my grandpa took on all of the cooking.
He had always had his pet cooking projects anyway, and so it really just added to them in many ways. It's also largely down to him that some recipes are even written down at all as my grandmother was much more of your classic 'by sight' cook, as I suspect she had learnt.
That might explain why this recipe was in cups rather than weight, as is more typical in the UK, as it's the closest my grandpa got to interpreting what she did. Either way, this Irish brack is a delicious and easy fruit loaf that I would definitely suggest you try. I imagine my memories of it are similar to what some have with date nut bread.
Steps to make Irish barmbrack
All you do is:
- Soak the dried fruit, along with the sugar, in tea overnight.
- Add the egg and flour to the mixture and stir to combine.
- Pour into a lined loaf tin and bake.
This loaf is delicious served warm with a little butter on top, or simply on its own. It's relatively light, but still sweet, so was popular in the mix for us with morning tea/coffee.
What is "mixed dried fruit" and can you replace it?
It's worth mentioning that mixed fruit in the UK is not the same as the US, so if you are outside the UK, I suggest making your own blend for this. The mixture used for this is typically 30% raisins, 30% golden raisins (called sultanas in UK), 30% currants and 10% dried candied peel.
I have had trouble getting candied peel before, but found dried papaya a pretty good alternative in my Christmas pudding, so sometimes do the same here.
I don't think it matters if you have exactly the mix I describe and in fact I don't always have one of currants, raisins and golden raisins instead so just go with what I've got. But at least two of the three adds some variety.
This is such an easy and tasty fruit loaf, which has a slight tang from the tea-soaked fruit. While for me it brings back lots of great memories with my grandparents, it's something that anyone will enjoy. It will keep well for a good week and will also freeze as well. But it may well be irrelevant to mention as you might find yourself coming back for more sooner so it doesn't get that long.
Try these other fruity treats perfect alongside a cup of tea or coffee:
- French lemon yogurt cake
- Apple and bacon cornmeal scones
- Eccles cakes (currant filled pastries)
- And another easy loaf perfect with tea or coffee is Dutch spice cake (ontbijtkoek), a bit like gingerbread.
- Plus get more ideas, both sweet and savory, in the snack recipes archives.
Irish barmbrack (fruit loaf)
Ingredients
- 8 oz mixed fruit (see notes)
- 1 cup black tea cold
- ¾ cup soft brown sugar
- 1 egg lightly beaten
- 8 oz self raising flour or 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour plus 2 ¼tsp baking powder and a ¼ tsp, rounded, of salt
Instructions
- Put the fruit into a bowl with the tea and sugar, stir to dissolve sugar and leave to soak overnight.
- Preheat oven to 325F/160C and grease and/or line a loaf tin (approx 8 ½ x 4 ½in/ 21 x 11cm, sometimes called a 1lb tin).
- Add the egg and the flour (or flour, baking powder and salt) to the fruit and tea mixture and mix until combined but try not to overmix.
- Tip the mixture into the prepared loaf tin, smooth the top a little and bake for 1 ½hours.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
See some of my favorite cooking tools and ingredients in the Caroline's Cooking Amazon store.
See all the other recipes to celebrate grandparents day:
Sweets that are the Sweetest
- Grandma’s Lemon Meringue Pie by The Freshman Cook
- Grandmas Raisin Bread by A Day in the Life on the Farm
- Homemade Brotchen by Cosmopolitan Cornbread
- Laura’s Old-Fashioned Prune Cake by Palatable Pastime
- Nanny's Raisin Filled Cookies by Grumpy's Honeybunch
- Old Fashioned Cinnamon Rolls by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
- White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake by The Redhead Baker
Savory Meals with Special Memories
- Busia’s Barbecue Sauce by Sew You Think You Can Cook
- Gram’s Cajun Rice Dressing by Food Lust People Love
- Grandma’s Polish Meatballs by Cupcakes & Kale Chips
- Grannies Clam Dip by Serena Bakes Simply From Scratch
- Shepherd’s Pie Quebec Style (Pate Chinois) by Curious Cuisiniere
Remember to pin for later!
Brian says
Thank you for for recipe. Really tweaks a nostalgic memory of visiting family in Ireland in the fall during my childhood and getting a Halloween Brack.
I altered the recipe slightly by using yellow raisins and zante currants and adding some pumpkin pie spice in place of the "spice mix" I've seen other recipes for brack use.
It's really delicious with some good Kerrygold butter and a cup of PG Tips.
Caroline says
So glad it brought back some tasty memories for you - indeed, you can easily adapt the raisin part to what you have or prefer with no real impact on it. And a little spice can work well, too. And absolutely, a slice with some good butter and a cup of tea is perfect!
Angela vaskin says
Amazing cake ...all my family abd friends asked for more
Caroline says
So glad everyone enjoyed it!
Pauline Muncer says
So easy to make. Really delicious.
Caroline's Cooking says
So glad you enjoyed it! And agree, I love that it's so easy.
Kevin says
This is a really nice brack recipe, but it's not barmbrack, barmbrack is a yeasted fruit bannock (barm means yeast) not a loaf cake
Caroline says
Appreciate the comment - funny enough I grew up knowing this simply as Irish brack, but it was more that any other recipe I found of loafs essentially the same were called barmbrack so it seemed that was maybe what it should be called, so I updated. I hadn't managed to find a distinction, so appreciate you pointing out!
Kathy says
I made two loaves -- one with a fruitcake mix and one with a raisin medley mix (golden, red, sultanas, etc). The raisin medley had gigantic raisins in it; the fruitcake mix was more UK style. Both loaves were delicious and ^very little^ difference in taste. Super easy recipe and very tasty. I will definitely make again.
Caroline's Cooking says
I'm glad to hear you enjoyed! And yes, in many ways I don't think the exact fruit makes all that much difference in the end, though I do like having at least a bit of a mix in there.
Dee says
Just as I remembered it, although I think my grandfather would sneak in a bit of Jameson's to the tea. A great tea cake for good conversation.
Caroline's Cooking says
Ha, I can imagine a few people would indeed do that! Glad to hear it tasted just as you remembered, and indeed great to have alongside tea and a chat.
Julie Madin says
Has anyone tried making this gluten free?
Caroline's Cooking says
I haven't but would be interested to hear how it works out if you try - I imagine with the right blend it should work fine.
Nicky says
Hi, just put the cake in the oven, so fingers crossed, it does sound very nice. Would be useful to have the sugar in grams along with the other conversions and the loaf tin size. I guess it’s about pond and half but put it in a 2 lb loaf tin as that was the smallest I had.
Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Caroline's Cooking says
Hope you enjoyed! Apologies, I must have missed adding the sugar conversion when I was switching recipe template I have added in now as well as the suggested loaf tin size.
Danielle says
Hi
How do you think this would be if I used 1 cup of alcohol (rum) in place of the tea?? Too strong perhaps??
Caroline's Cooking says
Yes, I think it would be too strong - thinking of other cakes that are intentionally flavored with rum or other spirits, the amount is generally a fair bit less. But if you wanted some, maybe say 1/4 cup alcohol and the rest tea? Let me know how it goes if you try!
Liz says
My English grandmother used to serve us a bread very like this one, usually for tea time. That recipe has been lost so I was very happy to find your own. It looks very similar to the one she made.
Caroline's Cooking says
I'm glad, hope you like it Liz!
Christine | Mid-Life Croissant says
I love the idea of soaking dried fruit in tea!! My wheels are really turning now. Thanks for sharing this delicious loaf and your sweet memories of your grandad at #SaucySaturdays.
Caroline's Cooking says
Thanks, Christine, it gives a great flavor to an easy tasty loaf!
Constance | CosmopolitanCornbread.com says
What a great bread! This looks delicious!
Caroline's Cooking says
Thanks Constance, it is!
Lauren @ Sew You Think You Can Cook says
This bread looks like a much easier version of raisin bread. Your grandfather sounds like a sweet, sweet man. Glad he wrote down some of the recipes for you!
Caroline's Cooking says
Thanks Lauren, the flavor and texture is a bit different from raisin bread, but it is along the same lines. My grandfather was indeed wonderful, I only scrape the surface here!
Sarah | Curious Cuisiniere says
This looks like a tasty loaf! Great tip to use dried papaya for candied peel. I've been looking for a good substitute!
Caroline's Cooking says
Thanks, Sarah - yes papaya works surprisingly well. The only thing is it swells up more than you might think so you may need to cut quite small or cut again after soaking if you want smaller pieces, depending on what you are making.
patsy says
I've never heard of this type of bread before, but am so happy to have discovered it today! I hope to try it very soon, it looks delicious!
Caroline's Cooking says
Thanks, Patsy, I hope you like it!
Hilda says
Lovely story and recipe! My grandmother had a fruit loaf made with tea but not as caky as yours. I would love to try this one, as I've never met a fruit loaf I didn't like.
Caroline's Cooking says
Thanks, Hilda. I agree, fruit loafs are nearly always great, I hope you like this one.
Valerie Cathell Clark says
Gosh, this brought back memories for me today! I haven't had this in years! It looks so comforting! I think I'm going to be making your recipe very soon 🙂
Caroline's Cooking says
Thanks Valerie, it brought back so many memories for me making it - I hope you enjoy!
Stacy says
What a great teacake to slice and eat with a nice hot cup of tea, Caroline! I'll bet it's even good toasted with butter, if it should get slightly stale. Not that it would last that long, I'm sure!
Caroline's Cooking says
Thanks, Stacy, yes it's great toasted with butter as well, though it takes a while to go stale, if it gets the chance - I more just toast it for variety.
Wendy, A Day in the Life on the Farm says
I think all of our European Grandparents had a fruit bread recipe to share. It makes me wonder if my Grandma's raisin bread would have contained different types of fruit had she made it there instead of here. Thanks so much for sharing your memories with us today.
Caroline's Cooking says
Thanks, Wendy, it has been a lovely trip down memory lane (and delicious too!)