Kokova Magazine

When I was younger my nan taught me how to make Cold Tea Cake, where we soaked the ingredients overnight in the left over tea from our ritual afternoon tea, that we had every Saturday, making the perfect loaf cake for our Sunday afternoon tea.

To celebrate Afternoon Tea Week (10th - 16th August), what better time than to make this fabulous recipe for Chocolate, Ginger and Cardamom Tea Bread from Paul A Young. The contents of the cake are soaked in Assam tea overnight before baking, giving the loaf a rich, complex flavour perfect for afternoon tea.

This chocolate and ginger loaf cake recipe packs a real punch, with crystallised stem ginger and cardamom wonderfully offset by the sweet raisins and rich chocolate.

Ingredients

• 250g of crystallised stem ginger
• 2 tsp ground cardamom
• 100g of raisins
• 75g of light muscovado sugar
• 1 orange, zested
• 200ml of Assam tea, strong
• 1 egg, beaten
• 200g of self-raising flour
• 100g of 70% dark chocolate, chopped into generous chunks

Method

1. Add the cardamom, ginger, raisins, sugar and zest to a large bowl and pour in the hot Assam tea. Cover the bowl with a cloth and leave overnight to soak.
2. When ready to start baking, preheat the oven to 160°C/Gas Mark 3.
3. Line the loaf tin with baking parchment and set aside.
4. Add the egg to the mix, stir to combine then gradually mix in the flour until smooth and incorporated.
5. Stir in the chocolate chunks then pour the mixture into the lined loaf tin.
6. Bake in the oven for an hour and a half, until a metal skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.
7. Remove from the oven and leave the cake to cool in the tin. When cool, carefully remove from the tin and wrap in parchment paper, followed by a clean tea towel.
8. Leave the bundle for 24 hours before unwrapping and eating - this will allow the cake to develop a deeper, more rounded flavour.

Credit: Recipe by Paul A Young for Great British Chefs