This simple, no-frills recipe for bara brith, sometimes known as speckled bread, was passed down from my Welsh friend Sian’s grandmother. I decided to add whisky, plus sheep on top. Sian informed me that this is not traditional, but we all agreed that the whisky really took things to another level. Delicious cold or lightly toasted, it is the essence of home and comfort.
Makes: One 2lb loaf and 20-30 biscuits
Prep time: 10 mins, plus soaking overnight (and decorating if you choose)
Bake time: 50-60 mins for bara brith, 10-15 mins for biscuits
For the bara brith:
150g dried fruit
130g whisky
90g light brown muscovado sugar
100g dark brown muscovado sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
230g whole milk
375g self-raising flour
For the biscuits (scale down if needed)
200g salted butter
85g caster sugar
270g plain flour
For the royal icing:
200g icing sugar
40g egg whites
Gel food dye: pink, black
The night before, combine the dried fruit and whisky in a bowl and leave to soak. The next day, preheat the oven to 170C/150C fan/325F/gas mark 3 and grease a 2lb loaf tin.
Put the sugars, salt, egg and milk in a bowl and whisk together. Add the self-raising flour and all the dried fruit, along with the liquid, and whisk again until just combined.
Pour into the loaf tin and smooth the top. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a knife inserted into the centre comes out clean. The loaf should come away from the sides of the tin when baked, and easily pop out.
Leave to cool on a wire rack before (optionally) decorating with biscuits and serving with lots of butter.
If decorating with biscuits: cream together the butter and the sugar, then add the plain flour and use your hands to mix into a ball.
Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface. Stamp or cut into sheep shapes, then place on a baking tray and insert a cocktail stick into as many as you want to decorate the bara brith with. This will help them stand up.
Bake for 10-15 minutes, leave on the baking tray for five minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Use an electric whisk to combine the icing sugar and egg white until smooth, adjusting the amount of icing sugar to get a pipable consistency. Separate into three bowls and colour accordingly.
Pipe to outline the sheep, then fill in the outline. Leave to partially set before adding the other details, then leave to set for about four hours.
