Fruit Bread Recipe

I just made this wonderfully comforting fruit bread and it’s perfect for a day like today - rather wet and cold!

This rather fragrant sweet scented bread is a family favourite. The recipe was given to me by a dear friend and relation who was a fabulous baker. She could take a few store cupboard ingredients and turn it into something amazingly decadent and tasty.

Photography by Tara de la Motte

“Thus began my love affair with baking’’

I learned so much about baking from her and she really took the fear out of baking for me.

She showed me how simple it really was. I was a young mum and keen to make lots of delicious treats for the family but looking at recipe books scared me , as everything looks so complicated. I am sure most of you know exactly what I mean.

This lovely lady showed me how to adapt recipes and make it my own and how easy it was to do so. Thus began my love affair with baking.

I can’t tell you how many countless times I have made this fruit bread over the years and it’s enduring popularity I owe to the lovely lady who encouraged me to bake.

I love the simplicity of this bread and I don’t even have to take the electric mixer out of the cupboard. All the ingredients go into the bowl and a wooden spoon is all you need to mix with.

We often have this fruit bread for breakfast and it goes perfectly with a cup of freshly ground coffee. Of course it’s fabulous with afternoon tea too.