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My English friend Margaret says there was a slice of malt loaf in every school lunch box in England when she was small: dark, thick, spread with butter and a little squashed from the walk to school. It is the one British cake that is supposed to be squashy. A good malt loaf is dense and damp, nearly black, full of raisins, and so sticky that the knife comes out with a smear on it. In Britain nobody eats it plain. It is sliced thick and buttered, and it comes out at teatime with a pot of tea beside it.
The strange part is that it does not come out of the oven that way. A malt loaf cut warm is a plain, slightly dry fruit loaf, and people who cut it warm decide the recipe failed. The stickiness arrives later. Wrapped tight and left alone for two or three days, the malt syrup and the tea-soaked fruit slowly give their moisture back to the crumb, and the whole loaf turns soft and sticky right through to the middle. So this page answers the two questions everybody outside Britain asks: what to use for the malt, and how to get the loaf sticky instead of dry.
Why this malt loaf works
- Barley malt syrup. It is the flavor of the loaf, somewhere between toast and caramel, and it holds on to moisture better than sugar does.
- Fruit soaked in hot tea. Plump raisins do not pull moisture out of the cake as it bakes, and the tea darkens the crumb.
- No butter in the batter. The syrup and the fruit carry all the moisture. The butter goes on the slice.
- A low, slow bake. A moderate oven cooks the dense batter through without drying the outside or burning the sugary top.
- Three days wrapped. The wait is a step of the recipe, not a storage note. It is what turns the loaf sticky.
Ingredients
Makes one loaf in a 9 by 5 inch loaf pan, about 12 slices. Bake it two or three days before you want to eat it. The measurements are in US cups with grams in brackets.
For the fruit
- 3/4 cup strong hot black tea, made with 2 tea bags (180ml)
- 1 cup raisins (150g)
- 1 cup golden raisins or sultanas (150g)
For the loaf
- 1/2 cup barley malt syrup (170g), plus 1 tablespoon for brushing
- 1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar (70g)
- 1 tablespoon molasses (the British use black treacle)
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (250g)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
To serve
- Soft salted butter
What to use for the malt: in Britain it is sold as malt extract. In the United States the same thing is called barley malt syrup and sits with the natural sweeteners in health food stores and larger supermarkets. If you cannot find it, use 1/4 cup molasses mixed with 1/4 cup honey in place of the 1/2 cup of syrup, and leave out the extra tablespoon of molasses. The loaf will taste a little more like gingerbread without the ginger, but it will be dark and sticky all the same.
How to make malt loaf
Soak the fruit
- Put the raisins and golden raisins in a large mixing bowl. Pour the hot tea over them, stir, and leave for 20 minutes, until the fruit is plump. Do not drain it.
Make and bake the loaf
- Heat the oven to 325 degrees (160°C). Grease a 9 by 5 inch loaf pan and line it with a strip of parchment that hangs over the two long sides.
- Warm the measuring cup under hot water so the syrup slides out, then stir the 1/2 cup of malt syrup, the brown sugar and the molasses into the warm fruit and tea until the sugar dissolves.
- Stir in the beaten eggs.
- In a small bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add them to the fruit mixture and fold with a wooden spoon just until no dry flour shows. The batter is loose and pourable.
- Scrape the batter into the pan. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, until the loaf is dark, firm to the touch and a skewer pushed into the center comes out clean. If the top darkens fast, lay a sheet of foil over it after 40 minutes.
- Warm the last tablespoon of malt syrup for a few seconds and brush it over the hot loaf. Leave the loaf in the pan for 20 minutes.
The wait
- Lift the loaf out by the parchment. While it is still slightly warm, wrap it in fresh parchment and then tightly in foil.
- Leave it at room temperature for at least 2 days, better 3, before cutting. Slice thick and spread with butter.
Tips that make the difference
- Do not judge the loaf on baking day. It is meant to seem a little firm when it comes out. The stickiness develops in the wrapping.
- Wrap it while it is still slightly warm. The small amount of trapped steam softens the crust and starts the process.
- Measure the syrup in a warmed or lightly oiled cup, or weigh it straight into the bowl. Cold malt syrup clings to everything.
- Stop folding as soon as the flour disappears. Overmixed batter bakes up tough, and no amount of waiting fixes that.
- Slice with a serrated knife wiped with a damp cloth between cuts. A sticky loaf drags on a dry blade.
Variations
- Date malt loaf. Replace half the raisins with chopped soft dates for an even stickier crumb.
- Prune and tea. Use chopped prunes for the golden raisins and make the tea extra strong.
- Spiced. Add 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon of ground ginger to the flour.
- Toasted. After day four, toast thick slices lightly and butter them hot.
Storage and make-ahead
Wrapped in parchment and foil, the malt loaf keeps at room temperature for up to a week and is at its stickiest between day three and day five.
Do not refrigerate it. The cold firms the crumb and dulls the malt flavor.
To freeze, wrap the whole loaf or separate slices tightly and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature, still wrapped.
Frequently asked questions
What can I use for the malt?
Barley malt syrup is the same thing as British malt extract. If you cannot find it, mix 1/4 cup molasses with 1/4 cup honey. The flavor is a little different but the loaf is still dark and sticky.
Why is my malt loaf dry?
Almost always because it was cut too soon. Wrap it and wait two to three days. If it is still dry then, it baked too long: start checking at 60 minutes next time.
Is there really no butter in it?
None in the batter. The moisture comes from the malt syrup and the soaked fruit. The butter is spread on each slice, which is how it is eaten in Britain.
Is barley malt syrup the same as malted milk powder?
No. Malted milk powder is a dry drink mix with milk in it and will not work here. You want the thick dark syrup.
Bake it on Sunday, hide it until Wednesday, and put the kettle on before you unwrap it.
British Malt Loaf (Dark, Squashy and Sticky, Better After Three Days Wrapped)
A traditional British malt loaf: raisins soaked in hot black tea, barley malt syrup and a spoonful of molasses stirred into a simple batter, baked low and slow, then wrapped and left for days until it turns dark and sticky. Sliced and buttered.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup strong hot black tea, made with 2 tea bags
- 1 cup raisins
- 1 cup golden raisins or sultanas
- 1/2 cup barley malt syrup (170g), plus 1 tablespoon for brushing
- 1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon molasses
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Soft salted butter
Instructions
- Put the raisins and golden raisins in a large mixing bowl. Pour the hot tea over them, stir, and leave for 20 minutes, until the fruit is plump. Do not drain it.
- Heat the oven to 325 degrees (160°C). Grease a 9 by 5 inch loaf pan and line it with a strip of parchment that hangs over the two long sides.
- Warm the measuring cup under hot water so the syrup slides out, then stir the 1/2 cup of malt syrup, the brown sugar and the molasses into the warm fruit and tea until the sugar dissolves.
- Stir in the beaten eggs.
- In a small bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add them to the fruit mixture and fold with a wooden spoon just until no dry flour shows. The batter is loose and pourable.
- Scrape the batter into the pan. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, until the loaf is dark, firm to the touch and a skewer pushed into the center comes out clean. If the top darkens fast, lay a sheet of foil over it after 40 minutes.
- Warm the last tablespoon of malt syrup for a few seconds and brush it over the hot loaf. Leave the loaf in the pan for 20 minutes.
- Lift the loaf out by the parchment. While it is still slightly warm, wrap it in fresh parchment and then tightly in foil.
- Leave it at room temperature for at least 2 days, better 3, before cutting. Slice thick and spread with butter.
