No tricks, just the treat

By Jan Cheshire

IT WILL soon be time for Halloween.  When I lived in southern Ireland many years ago, October 31 (All Hallows Eve) was very popular with all the children in the village where we lived. ​

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After school was over, the local children would dress up as ghosts or monsters and go around knocking on doors and offering “trick or treat”.  

Of course I would have laid by a few bags of lollies, and when they ran out I would offer apples to the would-be scary creatures.  It was a great deal of fun all round.  

I notice over the last few years that Halloween has become very popular here in Australia, too, although we don’t get may “trick or treaters”.  

This Barm Brack is really a tea bread and it was the traditional cake made in Ireland at Halloween.  It is very simple to make and quite delicious.  I hope you enjoy it.

BARM BRACK
Ingredients
500 grams of dried mixed fruit
185ml of strong hot black tea
125 grams of soft brown sugar
1 egg
125 grams of plain flour
¾  teaspoon of baking powder 
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon 
¼  teaspoon of  nutmeg
Pinch of ground cloves

Method

1. Mix the fruit and hot tea and leave for 3 hours or overnight.
2. Preheat the oven to 160 degrees.
3. Grease and line  a 25x11cm loaf tin.
4. Stir the egg and sugar into the fruit and tea mix.
5. Sift the flour and baking powder with the spices.
6. Add to the fruit mix, stirring to combine.
7. Bake for 1 hour  and 35 mins until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out dry.
8. Serve buttered if desired.
9. This loaf freezes well.
10. Enjoy!