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English Teacakes
These traditional lightly-spiced fruit buns are not a cake at all but still go wonderfully well with a nice cup of tea. This English tea cake recipe is very easy to follow.
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Makes: 6 large teacakes
Ingredients
  • 450 g (16 oz) bread flour
  • 285 ml (10 fl oz) milk
  • 125 g (4½ oz) sultanas or raisins or currants of a mixture
  • 2 tbsp caster (superfine) sugar
  • 2 tsp dried yeast
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp cinnamon
  • Big pinch of ginger powder
  • Big pinch of ground cloves
  • Milk for a glaze (optional)
Instructions
  1. Warm the milk slightly and add the sugar and the yeast. Mix and leave for 10 minutes.
  2. Sift the flour, spices and salt into a bowl. Make a well in the centre and add the milk/yeast mixture. Mix well to a soft, slightly tacky dough.
  3. Knead the dough on a floured surface for about 5-7 minutes until elastic.
  4. Spread the dough out, pour on the sultanas and knead the dough for a further 3-4 minutes.
  5. Place the dough in a lightly-oiled bowl, cover and put in a warm place until the dough has doubled in size.
  6. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, knock it back and knead for 2 minutes.
  7. Cut the dough into 6 equal pieces. Make each piece of dough into a smooth-topped ball by folding the dough under itself. Press the balls slightly to flatten them.
  8. Place the teacakes on a lightly-greased baking tray, cover and leave in a warm place for 45 minutes - 1 hour.
  9. Once the teacakes have risen you can brush them with milk for a glaze.
  10. Bake at 175°C/350°F fan oven, 200°C/390°F conventional oven for about 15 minutes.
  11. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Notes
For the spices you can use any mixture you like but don't over-spice them. The final teacakes should have a hint of spice about them.