Tea bread.

Tea bread is a component of both, a light afternoon tea and a full afternoon tea.

But let's say that you're just having a cup of tea. Sometimes, it feels like it's missing something. The tea itself is delicious, aromatic, and warms your heart, or cools your over-heated body, but have you ever thought about adding something sweet? Something that resembles a cake or a goodie maybe?

See how a slice of this savory goodie works out for you.

Chocolate tea bread.
(Makes 2 loaves.)

Ingredients:

Preparation:
1. Cream the butter; gradually add the sugar, beat until light and fluffy.
2. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
3. Combine the flour, cocoa, soda, salt, and cinnamon; sift together.
4. Stir the flour mixture into the egg mixture, blending well; add the vanilla.
5. Stir in the sour cream, walnuts, and chocolate morsels.
6. Spoon the batter into two greased and floured 7-1/2 x 3 x 2-inch loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 55 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.
7. Cool the bread in pans for 10 minutes; remove from the pans and cool completely on a wire rack.

Mini lemon tea bread.

Ingredients:

Preparation:
1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease ten 4"x2 1/4" loaf pans.
2. From the lemons, grate the peel and squeeze 1/4 cup of lemon juice.
3. In a large bowl, mix the all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
4. Mix until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
5. Stir in 1 tablespoon of lemon peel.
6. In a bowl, beat the eggs, milk and lemon juice; stir into the flour mixture just until the flour is moistened.
7. Spoon evenly into pans; top with remaining lemon peel. Place loaf pans on a baking pan for easier handling.
8. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool the bread in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove the bread from pans and cool completely on racks.

Note: You can use one 9"x 5" loaf pan and bake 1 hour and 10 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Depending on what kind of tea you're having, tea bread can be one of the many components at your table. What about tea sandwiches?

Irish tea bread.

Ingredients:

Preparation:
1. Place the dried mixed fruit, loose tea and sugar in a bowl. Cover and leave overnight.
2. Stir in the melted butter and the egg.
3. Sieve the flour and the bicarbonate of soda together and gently fold them into your mix.
4. Line the bottom of a large loaf pan with grease proof baking paper, then brush all the insides of the pan with melted butter.
5. Now pour in the mixture and smooth off the top.
6. Preheat your oven to 360 F / 182 Celcius and bake for 1 1/2 hours.
7. Remove the pan from the oven and take the bread loaf out. Let it sit and cool off on a wire rack.

Orange ginger tea bread.

Ingredients:

Preparation:
1. Cream together the sugar and margarine.
2. Add the eggs; beat till light and fluffy.
3. Combine the dry ingredients in another bowl.
4. Mix together the orange juice and milk. Add the orange juice mixture alternately with the dry ingredients to the batter -- beating until blended.
5. Fold in the orange rind and almonds.
6. Bake at 350� in a loaf pan about 45 minutes or till a tester is clean.

Banana-chocolate tea bread.
(Makes 2 loaves.)

Ingredients:

Preparation:
1. Cream the butter; gradually add the sugar, beating until light and fluffy.
2. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
3. Combine the flour, cocoa, soda, salt, and cinnamon; sift together.
4. Stir the flour mixture into the egg mixture, blending well; add the vanilla extract.
5. Stir in the banana, sour cream, walnuts, and chocolate morsels.
7. Spoon the batter into two greased and floured 7-1/2 x 3 x 2-inch loaf pans. Bake at 350 F. for 55 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.
8. Cool the bread in pans for 10 minutes; remove from pans and cool completely on a wire rack.

Autumn apricot-walnut tea bread.

Ingredients:

Preparation:
1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Soak the apricots in boiling water and allow them to soften for a few minutes.
2. In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar.
3. In another large bowl, whisk together the egg, oil, lemon or vanilla extract, cooled apricot mixture, and walnuts.
4. Beat vigorously until combined, then add to flour mixture, stirring until a batter forms.
5. In a small bowl, add the remaining 1/2 cup of walnuts and blend together with the brown sugar. Set aside.
6. Grease a 9-inch loaf pan. Pour the batter into the pan.
7. Sprinkle on walnut-brown sugar topping and bake for 1 hour.
8. Let the bread cool for 20 minutes before serving.

Cherry-apple nut tea bread.
(Yields 1 large loaf.)

Ingredients:

Preparation:
1. Cream the butter and sugar together.
2. Add the eggs one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition.
3. Add the applesauce and milk and mix. (Mixture will look curdled but don�t worry.)
4. In a separate bowl, mix the flour and all other ingredients except nuts & cherries.
5. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and stir only until blended.
6. Stir in the nuts and cherries.
7. Pour into greased 9 X 5 X 3 loaf pan and bake in preheated 350F oven for one hour or until it tests done.
8. Let the bread cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn out onto rack and cool thoroughly before slicing. Store tightly wrapped in refrigerator. OK to freeze.

Note: Can be baked in mini-loaf pans. Just adjust the baking time.

Blueberry tea bread.
(Yields 3-4 mini loaves.)

Ingredients:

Note: You can omit the lemon rind and add about 1 teaspoon cinnamon.

Preparation.
1. Cream butter. Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy.
2. Add the egg yolks, lemon rind and vanilla. Beat well.
3. Mix 2 tablespoons of the flour with the blueberries, and toss to coat.
4. Sift the rest of the flour with the baking powder, baking soda and salt.
5. Add the flour to the batter, alternating with the sour-cream, beginning and ending with the flour.
6. Beat the egg whites until stiff. Fold 1 quarter of the whites into the batter (to lighten it), then fold in the remaining whites.
7. Fold in the blueberries and spoon the batter into greased and floured pans. Sprinkle top of batter with about a teaspoon of granulated sugar if desired.
8. Bake at 350F. Recommended time for large loaves: about 45-60 minutes. For smaller loaves: 30-40 minutes, or until a knife or tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
9. Cool the bread for 10 minutes on a rack before removing from the pans.

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