Happy St. Paddy's Day! Irish Tea Brack

It's coming...the celebration of all things Irish. For the next week, we'll be running classic Irish recipes. The Gaelic blood running through this lassie is thick and strong...as strong as the tea in this classic Irish dessert. Try it with afternoon tea.

IRISH TEA BRACK

Dried peaches, apricots, and prunes are the fruits and the liquid used is strong tea. Since it uses dried fruits, you can easily make it year-round. Great for breakfast or an afternoon tea snack. Plan ahead to let the fruit steep in the tea overnight.

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup dried peaches, chopped
• 1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped
• 1/2 cup dried prunes, chopped
• 1 cup hot, strong tea
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 Tablespoon orange marmalade
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1-3/4 cups self-rising flour
• Butter or margarine (optional)

Preparation:

Combine peaches, apricots, prunes, and tea in a large bowl; cover and let stand overnight.

Add sugar, egg, and orange marmalade to fruit mixture. Stir well. Gradually add flour and pumpkin pie spice, mixing well.

Spoon batter into a greased 9-inch square pan. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 35 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cut into squares. Serve with butter, if desired.

Yield: 8 to 10 servings

Recipe Source: The Southern Heritage Celebrations Cookbook by Carole Lisa Albyn and Lois Sinaiko Webb (Oryx Press)
Reprinted with permission.

(Thanks to the Home Cooking section in About.com!
Look for the full page here.)