Being British means I drink a lot of tea, but I always love a treat to go with it. Fruity tea cake is the perfect accompaniment to a nice hot cup of tea. Leave to soak for 30min. Here is my recipe for a low fat Victorian Fruit Tea Cake:-I have made this really simple fruit cake for years, ever since my first mother in law introduced me to sliced fruit cake with a thick layer of unsalted butter and a lovely cup of tea.

Pour mixture in loaf tin. Add brown sugar. Pour into prepared tin(s) and bake in oven for 1 – 1 ½ hours on medium heat. Turn on oven to 190 C / 170 C Fan / Gas 5. Put the tea in a bowl and add the dried fruit. Place all fruit in bowl. Leave overnight. Bake for 1 hour in a fan-assisted oven, a little longer in a regular oven. Add cold tea and mix in well. Grease a 900g (2lb) loaf tin and baseline with greaseproof paper. Preheat the oven to 190°C (170°C fan oven) mark 5. Dried fruit is soaked in tea with fresh orange zest then added to a simple cake batter and baked to perfection. Add flour and beaten egg to the fruit mixture and and stir to combine. Line a large loaf tin. Take fruit mixture and add beaten egg, golden syrup, flour and salt and stir well (for a richer cake add up to 300mls cream if desired).