Dark chocolate, orange and ginger in bara brith

• tea bags3 strong black
• mixed dried fruit300g g
• butter↗

  for the pan

• dark brown soft sugar↗180g g
• ginger root↗4-5 balls of

  coarsely chopped

• dark chocolate↗100g g

  chopped

• marmalade↗2 tsp tsp
• orange essence↗2 drops of

  or use 1 orange, zest

• egg1

  beaten

• self-raising flour↗230g g
• mixed spice½ tsp tsp
• ground cinnamon↗1 tsp tsp
• ground ginger↗pinch of
• dark chocolate↗50g g
• oranges↗2

  (optional)

Step-by-step instructions

1. 1

   Drop the tea bags into a heat‑proof jug, pour in 350 ml of boiling water from the kettle and let steep for 5 minutes. Transfer the dried fruit to a large heat‑proof bowl and pour the hot tea over them. Cover and let soak overnight.

2. 2

   Preheat the oven to 170 °C/150 °C with convection/gas 3. Grease a 2 lb loaf pan with butter and line it with parchment. Sprinkle the soaked fruit with sugar and stir to dissolve. Add the ginger, chocolate, marmalade, orange essence, egg, flour, a pinch of salt and all the spices, then mix until a thick batter forms.

3. 3

   Transfer to the pan and bake for 1 hour 15 minutes. Let stand in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool.

4. 4

   For decoration, melt the chocolate in short bursts in the microwave or in a heat‑proof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water, making sure the bowl does not touch the water. If you are making dried zest, peel the oranges and cut the zest into strips. Dry it with a kitchen towel, then spread it on a tray and bake at 90 °C or on the lowest oven setting for 3 hours, checking every 45 minutes. Let cool. Drizzle the bread with chocolate and sprinkle with zest.