Barmbrack

The story

Barmbrack is best known as a Halloween bread. Like Irish colcannon, it may have small objects baked into it that foretell the fortune of whoever finds them in their slice. But all through the winter, Christmas included, it remains a favorite with tea as part of holiday hospitality. The name comes from the Irish "bairín breac," "speckled loaf," for its mottled look when cut: raisins and dried fruit, soaked for hours in strong tea, are scattered through the crumb like stars. Soaking the fruit in tea instead of water or alcohol gives the bread its characteristic moist, almost pudding-like texture and darker color, and many families add a spoonful of whiskey to the mix for extra depth of flavor. It is served sliced and buttered with a cup of tea, a simple welcome for guests who drop by throughout December. For immigrant families, the smell of tea and dried fruit soaking overnight is often the first sign that holiday baking has begun.