Soft and easy fruit and nut bread recipe with zesty lemon glaze! Enjoy a slice with tea or coffee this Christmas.
Preparation:
Cook:
Level: Easy
Ingredients
- FOR THE FRUIT BREAD:
- 750 milliliters Water
- ½ cups brown sugar
- 250 grams Butter without salt
- 1 kilogram Fruit mix (for fruit cake)
- ½ cups Walnuts, cut into small pieces
- 1 teaspoon Baking soda
- 2 teaspoons Ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon Grounded ginger
- ½ teaspoon Ground nutmeg
- 4 Eggs, beaten
- 4 cups Cake flour
- FOR THE LEMON ICE CREAM:
- 1 cup Icing sugar (confectioner’s sugar)
- 1 tbsp Fresh lemon juice, or more as needed
- ¼ cups Nuts, Chopped, To Decorate
Preparation
For the fruit bread:
Preheat oven to 160°C (320°F) and grease two regular sized loaf pans.
Put the water in a large saucepan with the sugar and butter and bring to a boil. Let simmer until the butter is melted. Add the fruit mixture and boil for 15 minutes until the fruit has puffed up. Leave to cool for about 15 minutes.
Once the fruit mixture has cooled, stir in the baking soda, spices, chopped nuts and eggs. Sift the flour and stir it into the fruit mixture with a wooden spoon.
Divide the mixture evenly between the two loaf pans and make sure it’s level. The best way to do this is with your hands.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until the buns spring back when touched and a toothpick comes out clean. Allow the loaves to cool to the touch before carefully inverting them onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
For the lemon glaze:
Sift the icing sugar into a small bowl, then squeeze in enough fresh lemon juice (1-2 tablespoons) to make a thick icing. Stir until smooth, then drizzle over cooled buns and top with chopped walnuts.
Note: This fruit bread freezes well, so you can make it ahead of time. You should be able to store these breads at room temperature for about a week. If it’s very hot, I suggest storing the loaves in the fridge.
