Looking For Spicing Suggestions for Tea Bread

[Porthos]

Anna N shared her recipe for tea bread (Strong tea, dried fruit, brown sugar, self-rising flour) and I have been using it to make bar cookies. I have been using dates or cherries up to now. Today I picked up some dried apricots today to use as the dried fruit. I would like to add a little spice to add a bit of extra dimension but am not sure what spices would work well. Would you please offer up your suggestions. Thanks in advance.

[ElsieD]

I have made this a few times as well and quite enjoy it. I have sometimes thought of adding dried fruit but so far have stuck with the basic recipe. I think orange flavours would go well and so am wondering if star anise would enhance the flavours? The ground spice, of course.

[Panaderia Canadiense]

Star anise, cardamon, and ceylon cinnamon all come to mind. Cinnamon with apricot in particular is a lovely combo.

[Porthos]

No star anise or cardamon in the pantry right now and as I am currently unemployed I will go with the cinnamon I have. Next week I am going to do figs but my best guess is that they can stand alone like like the date version I just made.

Although I am an avowed carnivore I feed a group on the weekends that includes vegans and when Anna posted that recipe I got rather excited since it is very vegan. Also, I am very much NOT a baker so easy recipes like this one really help me.

Thanks for the suggestions...

[Porthos]

Also do not have any orange extract at the moment.

[SylviaLovegren]

But if you have oranges you can grate the peel and use that instead of orange extract. Substitute some orange juice for the tea, too.

Any of the warm spices can be lovely -- nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves (go easy!), ginger. I love cardamom but if you don't have any, well...

[Porthos]

There is a cup of dried fruit, a cup of brown sugar, and 2 cups of flour in this recipe. Musically speaking the apricots are the melody, the cinnamon will be the harmony. Since it is just supposed to support the apricots I'm wondering about the right amount. I'm guessing 1/2 teaspoon but not sure if that is in the correct range for my goal.

[Panaderia Canadiense]

Start with 1/2 tsp if your cinnamon smells strong, and 1 tsp full if your cinnamon seems weak (the age of the spice since grinding has a lot to do with flavour, particularly cinnamon which loses strength quite quickly)

[judiu]

Porthos, I personally prefer nutmeg to cinnamon, but YMMV. You could also add whole spices to the tea while brewing, for the flavour. Have you considered macerating the dried fruit in wine, or apple juice (or other fruit juice) or booze, and cutting back marginally on the actual tea? HTH!

[Porthos]

Have you considered macerating the dried fruit in wine, or apple juice (or other fruit juice) or booze, and cutting back marginally on the actual tea? HTH!

I modified the recipe to suit my impatience. I steep the tea (Bigelow's Constant Comment), then pour the hot tea over the fruit and let set for 20-30 minutes, then add the sugar and then flour. Because my target audience potentially has 12-steppers in it I choose to avoid alcohol. When I use cherries I have used cherry syrup to replace part of the tea but then I think that the existence of cherries is proof of a divine being that loves us.

[Bojana]

How about curry?

[teonzo]

Besides spices, you have a whole universe of pairings to try with that basic recipe.

Some suggestions:

Darjeeling tea + dried apricots (you can substitute some of the wheat flour with almond flour)

chamomile infusion + dried apricots + pepper

lavender infusion (better making a cold infusion, water + lavender in fridge for 12 hours) + dried apricots + rosemary

pomegranate juice + chopped walnuts + ginger

licorice + dried figs

licorice + candied pineapple

hibiscus flowers infusion + dried cranberries

Assam tea + candied orange peel + cinnamon

Keemun tea + sweetcorn grains

dates + carob flour (substitute 30% of the wheat flour with carob flour, the dark one made from the pods, not the white one made from the seeds)

coffee + white sesame

blackberry juice + star anise

rose petals infusion + ground pistachio

pineapple juice + marron glacé + ginger

whitethorn infusion + candied nectarines

ginseng infusion + goji berries (or dried jujube)

mint infusion + candied lemon peel + dried coconut

rum (with water, of course) + candied pineapple + nutmeg

orange juice + cocoa powder (substitute 10% of wheat flour with cocoa powder) + cinnamon (or nutmeg or mace)

Sencha tea + sweet potatoes (roasted and cut in small dices)

licorice + dried longan

carrot juice + japaleno

Teo

[Porthos]

Thank you all for your suggestions.

teonzo - Your list inspired me to make pineapple-ginger this week. Still thinking about which tea to use. In the running at the moment are PG Tips, Earl Gray and good ol' Lipton.

[andiesenji]

I like the addition of citrus zest. Another option is to grate some fresh ginger and make a small amount of syrup - stew the grated ginger in simple syrup for 30 minutes or so on low simmer, strain and drizzle the baked goods with it.