Fennel tea soaked raisin bread

Well pretty much the moment I posted my last entry the weather turned :( The temperatures have dropped about 10°C and it's cold and windy. Luckily there is still some sun here and there so I'm not complaining. Both sons have been under the weather for the last week so I haven't been in my kitchen as much as I wanted too yet. But I'll have to because I have a lot to do: baking for my friend who just had a baby girl, my youngest son's 1st birthday, SHF, this month's Daring Bakers challenge to name just a few. So much to do and so little time...sigh...
Today's recipe is one that has been sitting in my archives for a pretty long time. I made this raisin bread when I had a high tea with some of my dearest friends. Besides all the fat and sweet treats I wanted to serve something that was a bit more plain to even things out. So this tea brack was perfect for that. It was good loaf but I'm not too fond of raisins so I'm sure I won't make this exact recipe again. Also I expected to taste some of the fennel tea in which I steeped the raisins but despite being a super taster I could only barely taste it. Good thing about this loaf is that it's low-fat, the only tiny bit of fat comes from the egg yolk.
It improves with keeping (not indefinitely of course but it's better after a couple of days).
I'm submitting this raisin bread to Waiter There's Something In My...Dried Fruits and Nuts. This month it's hosted by Andrew of Spittoon Extra.



Fennel tea soaked raisin bread (adapted from Traditional Farmhouse Teas by Janice Murfitt)

makes 1 loaf

300 ml (1 ¼ cups) warm herbal tea (I used fennel)
500 g (1 lb / 3 cups) raisins
250 g (8 oz / 1 ⅓ cups) light soft brown sugar
3 tbs orange marmalade
1 egg, beaten
500 g (1 lb /4 cups) self-raising flour (or regular flour mixed with 3% of its weight in baking powder)
1 tsp apple spices

Mix the tea, raisins, sugar and marmalade. Stir until well blended. Cover and allow to soak overnight.
Preheat the oven to 170°C (325°F). Grease a 1 kg (2 lb) loaf pan. Line the base and sides with baking paper.
Add the egg to the fruit mixture and sift in the flour and spices. Mix together with a wooden spoon until well blended. Place the mixture in the baking pan.
Bake for about 1 ¼ hours. The fruit bread should spring back and feel firm when pressed with your fingers.
Allow to cool for 5 minutes in the pan before turning it out. Remove the baking paper and allow to cool on a wire rack.