Sultana Loaf Cake
Serves 8
225g sultanas
175ml cold tea
225g (1 1/2 cups) self-raising flour
175g demerara (or brown) sugar
1 egg, beaten
1. The night or a minimum of 5 hours before cooking, place the sultanas in a large bowl, pour over the cold tea and cover. Set aside to soak.
2. Preheat oven to 180°C (conventional). Grease a loaf tin with plenty of butter.
3. Sift the flour over the soaked sultanas and tea and stir to combine. Stir in the sugar and a pinch of salt. Add the egg and stir until combined. (Don’t worry about the absence of butter or oil in this recipe – it will be very moist because of the tea-soaked sultanas.)
4. Spoon the mixture evenly into the tin. Bake on the middle shelf of the preheated oven for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean.
5. Leave cake in the tin for 15 minutes then turn out to cool on a wire rack. The cake is best kept in an airtight container for two days before eating. Serve spread with butter if desired.