Michelle Darmody: How to bake a soft, squidgy malt loaf

Malt loaf can be packed with seeds, nuts and dried fruits for added benefit.

I feel like I could do with an energy boost this week, and a slice of this malt loaf is perfect. 

It is a soft, squidgy loaf that works nicely lathered in butter. It ages well over a few days, like a gingerbread or parkin would, the flavours begin to blend and enhance each other and the sugar and sweetness seeps out creating a deliciously textured slice.

Malt is an extract usually made from barley that has a very distinct taste. It has a toasted, biscuity, nutty flavour that is used in drinks like milkshakes, or in cereals or the famous globular chocolate-covered sweets, Maltesers. 

The extract is a natural sweetener and enhances the flavours it is paired with. It is also a good alternative to refined sugar because it has more nutrients and minerals as well as that distinctive flavour. A little of the extract can be added to breads or biscuits to help create a nice back note and a golden hue.

The loaf can be packed with seeds, nuts and dried fruits for added benefit. You can use any combination of dried fruits. I tend to choose fruits that have a natural softness, as unlike a tea brack you do not soak the dried fruit before adding them to the recipe.

Malt loaf

recipe by:Michelle Darmody

Malt loaf is a soft, squidgy loaf that works nicely lathered in butter. It ages well over a few days, like a gingerbread or parkin would, the flavours begin to blend and enhance each other and the sugar and sweetness seeps out creating a deliciously textu

Servings

10

Preparation Time

 20 mins

Cooking Time

 50 mins

Total Time

 1 hours 10 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 125g plain flour

• ½ tsp baking powder

• ¼ tsp bread soda

• 90g malt extract, more for glazing

• 40g dark muscovado sugar

• 70ml warm black tea

• 20g pecan nuts, chopped

• 70g golden raisins

• 70g chopped medjool dates

• 1 egg, lightly beaten

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 130ºC /gas mark 2.

2. Line a 1lb loaf tin with parchment.

3. Sieve the flour, baking powder and bread soda and set aside.

4. Add the sugar and malt extract to a bowl and pour in the warm tea. Stir to combine and slightly dissolve.

5. Add in the pecan nuts, raisins, dates and the egg. Stir to combine.

6. Stir in the flour mixture until combined.

7. Scoop the mixture into your prepared tin and flatten it out.

8. Place in the centre of your oven and bake for 50 minutes until firm to touch.

9. Brush some malt extract over the warm loaf while it is still in the tin.

10. When the loaf is cool remove it from the tin. 

Baker's Tips

If you do not have time to cut and measure your parchment, a good way of getting it to fit neatly into a tin is to scrunch it into a ball and then smooth it back out again. It will be far more malleable after you do this.

Malt extract can be found in the health food section of many supermarkets or in smaller health food shops. It can sometimes be labelled as barley malt extract.

I choose golden raisins because of their juicy texture; they are little blasts of sweetness when baked. Alternatively, you can use regular raisins in their place but I find the golden ones are softer as well as more flavoursome.

If you find the dried fruit sinks while baking, you can lightly coat it in flour before stirring it into the mixture. Tis will help suspend it more evenly throughout the loaf.

You could use treacle if you cannot get your hands on malt extract, but you will lose the unusual nutty malt flavour.

As with most loaf cakes, avoid overmixing the batter. You can simply stir the ingredients together with a wooden spoon or spatula. Overmixing may result in a loaf that is too firm.

If your loaf sinks, it may be because the oven door was opened during bakig. It is preferable to keep the baking temperature consistent. Another explanation can be expired baking powder or bread soda. They are both very sensitive ingredients that lose their rising power over time.

This loaf gets stickier and stronger in flavour a day or so after baking. Keep it airtight at room temperature and slice as needed.

The loaf freezes well either whole or sliced before freezing.

Three delicious variations

Toasted hazelnuts

Toasted hazelnuts add another layer of flavour to this loaf. I love the hazelnut malt pairing. Add 90g of toasted, roughly chopped hazelnuts in place of the pecan nuts and raisins. I peel the skins off the hazelnuts before I use them. I like to leave the dates in the recipe but you could substitute them for any dried fruit. Dried apricots would work well.

Raspberry

Adding fresh raspberries will change the cake quite considerably and give it a really unusual flavour combination. Stir in 100g of roughly chopped raspberries in place of the pecan nuts and raisins, and add an extra ten minutes baking time because of the extra moisture the raspberries bring.

Dark chocolate chip

The bitter dark chocolate ups the intensity of the malt. Stir in 70g of dark chocolate chips along with the fruit and nuts. You can also replace 15g of flour with 15g of cocoa powder for a deeper chocolate flavour.