This Easy Vegan Tea Loaf is a soft, lightly spiced fruit cake made with tea-soaked dried fruit and baked in a loaf tin. It's an easy traditional British bake with a lovely tender texture and plenty of fruit without needing dairy or eggs.

The tea plumps out the fruit, keeps the cake moist, and adds a bit of flavour. The perfect cake with a cup of tea or a cup of coffee. If you like this style of cake, also try my Vegan Fruit Cake or my Vegan Parkin.

Sliced vegan tea loaf cake spread with vegan butter.

Easy Vegan Tea Loaf (Spiced Fruit Cake)

Name: Easy Vegan Tea Loaf (Spiced Fruit Cake)
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 1 h 10 min
Total time: 1 h 25 min
Yield: 8-10 slices (1 cake)
Cuisine: British, Vegan
Ingredients: 300g (2 cups) mixed dried fruit; 1 mug of tea (made with 2 teabags and left to brew until dark); 200ml (0.85 cup) leftover tea (when the fruit is drained), topped up to the measurement with oat milk (or your regular milk); 125g (½ cup) vegan butter or margarine; 3 tablespoons golden syrup (or maple syrup); 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon; 2 teaspoons ground ginger; 300g (2 ¼ cups) plain flour; 200g (1 loosely filled cup, don't pack it down) brown sugar (or demerara sugar); 2 teaspoons baking powder; pinch of salt; 80g (⅓ cup) apple sauce

Tea loaf is a traditional British fruit cake where the dried fruit is soaked in tea before it's added to the cake batter.

The result is a soft, moist cake that's not as heavy as many traditional fruit cakes, with a subtle flavour of tea and spices.

It's similar to the Welsh tea bread bara brith, but lighter in texture. Both are good served with a cuppa.

For another fruit cake, try this Vegan Blueberry Cake.

🧾At-A-Glance: Vegan Tea Loaf:

✅ Recipe: Vegan Tea Loaf Cake

⏲️ Ready in: 1 hour 25 minutes (plus soaking dried fruit overnight or for a few hours before you bake the cake)

👪 Serves: 8-10 slices

🍽 Calories: per slice

🧾 Main Ingredients: Dried fruit, tea, plain flour, baking powder, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, oat milk (or your regular milk), vegan butter (or margarine), golden syrup (or maple syrup) & apple sauce (I use a shop-bought jar of apple sauce)

👩🏻‍🍳 Suitable For: Vegan, plant-based, dairy-free and egg-free

⭐ Why You'll Love It: It's an easy, lightly spiced, moist cake with plump fruit that can be made by folding the melted wet ingredients into the dry, then baked in a loaf tin. You don't need any fancy equipment or even a whisk; it's super easy to make and it's just gorgeous.

This will soon become your go-to fruit cake, and everyone will love it.

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🧾 Key Ingredients

To make this rather special teatime cake, which is perfect for afternoon tea, you only need a few simple ingredients.

The recipe card has the full ingredient list and method.

Vegan tea loaf ingredients including flour, spices, tea-soaked fruit and apple sauce.

Plain flour - I use plain flour and baking powder, but you could use self-raising flour if that's what you have, and only add 1 teaspoon of baking powder
Brown sugar - you can use demerara sugar instead
Spices - you can swap the cinnamon with mixed spice, which is similar to the American pumpkin spice (it's the perfect cake to serve in Autumn (Fall), at Halloween or on Bonfire Night
Golden syrup - if you aren't in the UK and can't get hold of golden syrup, you can use maple syrup
Apple sauce - the apple sauce I use is a supermarket Bramley apple sauce
Oat milk - use your regular milk

You are going to fall in love with this cake!

☕ Why Soak the Fruit in Tea?

The fruit soaking step is really important and is best done overnight or for a few hours before you make the cake.

All the dried fruit (I use mixed dried fruit) soaks up the tea, leaving it plump and juicy instead of dry and chewy. It also adds flavour to the fruit.

I brew some strong tea using my everyday tea bags; a breakfast tea or builder's tea, as we call it in the UK, is fine.

💭 Jac's Top Tip

If you're making this cake for Christmas instead of traditional Christmas cake, which is a much heavier cake (I think this cake is nicer), you can soak the fruit in rum or brandy.

🍰 How to Make Easy Vegan Tea Loaf

These step-by-step photos will show you how easy it is to make this amazing dairy-free tea loaf.

The recipe card has the full ingredient list, method, and notes.

Step 1

Brew strong tea in a mug or cup and then pour it over the dried fruit in a large bowl and leave to plump up overnight or for a few hours before making the cake.
Drain the fruit, keeping the leftover tea to add to the cake batter.
Preheat your oven and line your loaf tin (I like to use loaf tin liners for ease.

Step 2

Add the plumped-up fruit and leftover tea to a pan with the milk, vegan butter (or margarine).
Then add the golden syrup and spices.
Heat on low to medium until the butter is melted, then set aside to cool.

Step 3

Add the flour to a large mixing bowl.
Then add the brown sugar, baking powder and a pinch of salt.
Mix well.

Step 4

Add the cooled fruit and butter mixture to the dry ingredients, then add the apple sauce and fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined.
Pour into your lined loaf tin.
Bake until golden and a skewer comes out clean.

Step 5

Leave the cake to cool in the tin for 10-15 minutes, then carefully tip out onto a baking rack to continue cooling.
Slice and serve. Here in Scotland, we love serving fruit cake slathered with butter (plant-based, of course), but I think fruit cake is sometimes served with a slice of cheddar in Yorkshire.

💭 Tips for Making the BEST Loaf Cake

Soak the fruit properly - an overnight soak is best, but if you forget, you can soak it for an hour or two before you make the cake, although longer is better.
Don't pour away the drained tea - when you drain the fruit, put a bowl underneath to catch the drained tea so it can be added to the cake batter.
Overmixing the cake batter is not a good idea - just fold the wet ingredients in until just combined; there is no need to beat it, and beating the cake batter will leave you with a heavier cake.
Remember to line your loaf tin - for easy removal of the cake, non-stick loaf liners are well worth buying.
Keep an eye on the top of the cake - you don't want it to over-brown - when you check on it with a skewer at around the hour mark, cover the top of the cake with tin foil before popping it back in the oven if it needs to bake longer.
Let it cool - let it cool for a while in the cake tin, then cool completely on a baking rack before slicing. Then it will slice well; slice while warm, and it can crumble.

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🍰 More Easy Vegan Cakes to Try Next

All my vegan cakes are made with the simple fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredient method.

For something fruity, try my Vegan Lemon Drizzle Cake; for a retro cake, try my Vegan Pineapple Upside Down Cake; if you love carrot cake, try my Vegan Carrot Cake; and if you like something rather special, try my Vegan Jaffa Orange Cake.

They are all simple cakes with a soft crumb baked in a 2 lb/900g loaf tin.

💡 Vegan Tea Loaf - Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know if the cake is fully baked?

Use a toothpick or skewer and insert it into the middle of the cake. If it comes out with batter on it, the cake needs to bake longer; if it comes out clean, the cake is ready.

Is the tea loaf better the next day?

This is the type of cake where the flavour improves as it sits. You can keep it in an airtight container for a few days and enjoy a slice with a cup or tea or coffee.

Can this tea loaf be frozen?

Yes, you can freeze the whole loaf or slices of the cake. Wrap well and freeze for up to 3 months; allow to defrost in the fridge overnight or at room temperature.

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tea loaf, vegan tea loaf, tea cake, fruit cake, vegan fruit cake, dairy-free tea loaf, egg-free tea loaf

Baking, Halloween

British, Vegan

Yield: 8-10 slices (1 cake)

Author: Jacqueline Meldrum