Dark chocolate, orange & ginger bara brith

Try a twist on bara brith – the classic Welsh teacake – made with chocolate, orange and ginger. It's perfect for celebrating St David’s Day

Ingredients

• 3 strong black teabags
• 300 g dried mixed fruit
• butter, for the tin
• 180 g dark brown soft sugar
• 4 -5 balls of stem ginger, roughly chopped
• 100 g dark chocolate, chopped
• 2 tsp marmalade
• 2 drops of orange essence, or use 1 orange, zested
• 1 medium egg, beaten
• 230 g self-raising flour
• 0.5 tsp mixed spice
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• pinch of ground ginger
• 50 g dark chocolate
• 2 oranges (optional)

Steps

1. Drop the teabags into a heatproof jug, pour over 350ml boiling water from the kettle and leave to brew for 5 mins. Tip the dried fruit into a large heatproof bowl and pour over the hot tea. Cover and soak overnight.
2. Heat the oven to 170C/150C fan/gas 3. Butter a 2lb loaf tin and line with baking parchment. Scatter the sugar over the soaked fruit and stir to dissolve. Add the ginger, chocolate, marmalade, orange essence, egg, flour, a pinch of salt and all the spices, then mix to a thick batter.
3. Scrape into the tin and bake for 1 hr 15 mins. Leave in the tin for 10 mins, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool.
4. To decorate, melt the chocolate in short bursts in the microwave, or in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, ensuring the bowl doesn’t touch the water. If you’re making the dried peel, peel the oranges and cut the peel into strips. Press dry with a kitchen towel, then scatter over a baking tray and bake at 90C or your oven’s lowest setting for 3 hrs, checking every 45 mins. Leave to cool. Drizzle the chocolate over the loaf and scatter with the peel.