Method
Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl then rub in the butter with your fingertips. Stir in the yeast, sugar, currants, mixed peel and spices.
Make a well in the centre of the mixture and pour in ¾ of the milk and mix together. Add more milk until you have a soft dough.
Lightly dust a surface with flour and knead for 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Place in a greased bowl and cover with lightly greased cling film. Leave to rise in a warm place for 1-2 hours until doubled in size.
Knock back the dough by punching it. Then knead for 5 minutes before dividing into 12 tea cakes. Place on a greased baking sheet and cover once again with the greased cling film. Leave to rise again in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/400F/Gas 6. Remove the cling film from the tea cakes and lightly brush them with milk. Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes until golden.
Heat 3 tbsp sugar with 3 tbsp water in a pan until dissolved. Brush over the tea cakes and serve warm or cooled and toasted with butter.
Ingredients
- 500g (1 lb 2oz) strong white bread flour, plus some for dusting
- 1 tsp salt
- 50g (2oz) unsalted butter, cubed
- 1 x 7g sachet fast action dried yeast
- 40g (1½oz) caster sugar, plus 3 tbsp
- 150g (5oz) currants
- 75g (3oz) mixed peel
- ½ tsp ginger
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- 300ml (½pt) warm semi skimmed milk, plus 2 tbsp for brushing
Top Tip for making Tea Cakes
Make the dough and after kneading place in a greased bowl covered in cling film. Leave in the fridge to slowly rise over night
-
Christmas Cake Tray Bake
For a quick and easy alternative to Christmas cake, try out this Christmas Cake Tray Bake. It's packed with all the delicious fruit you'd expect and is so quick!
By Samuel Goldsmith Published
-
Oven-Baked Chicken Breasts with Chorizo and Chickpeas
By Rebecca Smith Published
-
Chicken parmesan bake
By Rose Fooks Published
-
Chocolate and hazelnut roulade
This chocolate and hazelnut roulade comes with an optional Baileys Irish cream liqueur filling for an extra, festive twist
By Jen Bedloe Published
-
Baileys Cheesecake
This no-bake Baileys cheesecake is so easy to make and perfect for cream liqueur lovers, plus it takes just 40 minutes to prepare
By Jess Meyer Published
-
Chocolate torte with Baileys cream and salted praline
Serve this rich Chocolate torte with Baileys cream and salted praline for a festive dessert that makes a popular alternative to Christmas pudding
By Jen Bedloe Published
-
Queen Elizabeth's divisive breakfast that 'fascinated' her as a teenager definitely won't be everyone's cup of tea
Queen Elizabeth's divisive breakfast is something that she reportedly learnt how to cook herself after smelling its 'compelling scent'
By Emma Shacklock Published
-
Kristin Cavallari’s go-to breakfast is so easy to make that you will want to eat it every morning
Reality TV star Kristin Cavallari shares the recipe for her favorite egg-based breakfast
By Anna Rahmanan Published
-
Doctor reveals why we should stop eating porridge for breakfast
According to a cardiologist, porridge is the wrong breakfast choice but not every one agrees...
By Emily Smith Published