Breakfast chocolate tea cake recipe
We love Chantal Coady’s recipe from her must-have book Real Chocolate (Quadrille, £9.99).
Preparation time: 1¼ hours, including soaking Cooking time: 20 to 25 minutes Makes 12
200g (7oz) dried fruit - sultanas, cherries or cranberries
100g (4oz) light brown sugar
400ml (14fl oz) cold English Breakfast tea
50g (2oz) butter, melted
2 to 3tbsp polenta (cornmeal)
2 eggs
2tbsp rich dark Seville orange marmalade
450g (1lb) self-raising flour
2tsp ground mixed spice
100g (4oz) good quality dark chocolate, such as Green & Black’s, chopped into small chunks
You will need a 12-hole muffin tin
1 Put the dried fruit, sugar and cold tea into a bowl to soak for 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 180 C, 160 C fan, 350 F, gas 4. Prepare the muffin tin – brush the base and sides with melted butter, then coat with polenta, shaking off any excess. This stops the buns sticking to the tin and avoids the use of muffin cases, which can sometimes stick too. You can do this an hour ahead and leave the tin in the fridge.
2 Beat the eggs and marmalade together. Add the fruit, sugar and tea mix. Sift the flour and mixed spice, then fold in to the mixture. Finally, add the chocolate chunks and mix through.
3 Pour the mixture into the prepared muffin tin and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown on top. Allow to cool slightly before removing the tea cakes to a wire rack to cool completely.
Per tea cake: 270cals, 4g fat, 2g saturated fat, 56g carbohydrate
Get ahead: These can be made up to 1 hour before you’re ready to serve, but they don’t keep for more than 2 to 3 hours. Eat as fresh as possible. Once cool, store in an airtight tin until ready to serve.
