Irish Tea Bread and Degustabox April 2015 review

It's time for the what's in my Degustabox for April and I will be posting about May fairly soon. April's box had an international theme and as usual it comes in an alcohol version or non alcohol version. I usually receive both in my review box but you can specify when you order them for yourself. A quick note about Desugatabox in case you're not familiar with it. Degustabox is a no obligation monthly subscription which costs £12.99 including delivery. You get 9 to 14 surprise products and it's usually a good mixed selection of goodies. Do check out my previous reviews to see the range of products you can expect to receive.  I have a special discount code for all my readers if you are interested in signing up a box for yourself or for a family memeber/friend. You get a £3.00 discount when registering by using this code PXATS which makes it just under a tenner for a goodie box including delivery.

I decided to create a recipe using Barry's tea which is from Ireland. I used a traditional Irish Tea Cake recipe which I found online and it turned out beautifully. I gave half to an Irish colleague who thoroughly enjoyed it. She suggested adding a bit of brandy or whiskey so I'm going to give it another go soon. It was really easy to make apart from allowing extra time to soak the fruits in tea overnight. It was delicious warm from the oven with butter on top. It kept well and was equally delicious toasted with butter.

 Kingfisher beer in the alcholic box which is from India. 

 IdrinQ from Hermany which is an enhancement drink. 

 Scheckters Organic Energy drink which is a natural, organic drink. 

 Cirio tomato fillets from Italy. 

 Vetee rice which I like for the convenience. The spicy mexican rice works well in stuffed peppers. 

 Nando's Peri-Peri potato chips - tasty ridge cut chips perfect for snacking. 

 Debeukelaer Cookies Bakery inspired by traditional family bakeries in Greenwich Village, New York. They are individually wrapped and have a melty chocolate centre. Perfect for picnics or lunchboxes. 

 Barry's Tea from Ireland

 Kinder choco-bons and mini kinder chocolate with cereals. Perfect for treats and lunchboxes as they are all individually wrapped. 

 Schwartz Balti and Korma recipe mix. These were great for mid week meals and the spices were perfect. 

 Cirio concentrated tomato puree from Italy - absolutely delicious. 

 I decided to use Barry's tea bags for my recipe this month. 

 Soak fruits in strongly brewed tea overnight 

 The fruits were plump and juicy after soaking 

 ready to go in the oven 

Makes 1 large loaf

500g dried fruit mix
4 Barry's tea bags
400ml boiling water
200g brown sugar
250g self raising flour
1 egg
1 teaspoon mixed spice

• Place the tea bags in 400mls boiling water in a large bowl. Allow to steep for at least 5 minutes before removing the tea bags.
• Add the dried fruit mix and stir.
• Cover with a tea towel and leave overnight. 
• Preheat the oven to 180C.
• Add the remaining ingredients to the dried fruit mix and stir.
• Pour the batter into a loaf tin and bake for approximately 1 hour or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Check after 45minutes as you may need to cover the loaf with foil to prevent the top from burning.