Home of Halloween – Barmbrack Recipe

Caution is required at this time of year when biting into a slice of warm barmbrack. This traditional Halloween bread/cake could contain any number of items, ready to tell the future of the person lucky (or unlucky) enough to find something in their slice. You may find: a ring (married in a year); a stick (a walking stick indicating future travels); a thimble (a spinster forever); a button (a bachelor forever); a coin (a lifetime of wealth); and a piece of cloth (a lifetime of poverty). Years ago, religious medals could also be found in bracks, predicting a life in the Holy Orders.

For those of you unfamiliar with barmbrack, this recipe is a winner.

Ingredients

For the fruit mix:

350g (1½ cups) sultanas
50ml (¼ cup) Bushmills whiskey
Warm tea (enough to cover the sultanas)
1 lemon, juice and zested skin

For the dough:

450g (2 cups) strong bread flour
A pinch of salt•15g (1tbsp) dried yeast
280ml (9.5fl oz) milk, at room temperature
50g (3½tbsp) butter, softened
50g (3½tbsp) sugar
1 egg, beaten

For the topping:

1tbsp butter
1tsp ground cinnamon
½tsp ground mixed spice

Method

Soak the sultanas in the whiskey, warm tea and lemon juice for 30-45 minutes, then drain off the liquid.
To make the dough: put all the ingredients into a mixing bowl and bring together with a wooden spoon.
Knead on a floured surface with your hands for 5 minutes.
Put the dough in a bowl, cover with a damp tea towel and leave for about 1 hour, until the mixture has risen and fills the bowl.
Knead the dough again ona floured surface, adding the soaked fruit until evenly spread throughout.
Place in a 20-23cm buttered cake tin and cover with a damp tea towel.
Leave in a warm place for about 20 minutes until the mixture rises up to the top of the tin.
Bake for 50 minutes in oven preheated to 200C.
For the topping: cream the butter and spices together until soft.
Remove the barmbrack from the oven. Immediately spread spiced butter on top. Leave to cool.