Easy Scottish Fruit Loaf Recipe - A Happy Home In Holland (2024)

This traditional Scottish Fruit Loaf Recipe (aka Tea Bread) has got to be one of the easiest ever. It is a cross between bread and cake with a little bit denser texture and rather delicious when spread with butter and served with a nice cup of tea!

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I love this Fruit Loaf Recipe that I got from my mum (yes, another one from my mum). And one of the reasons I love it is the fact that it is sooooo easy. You can literally throw the ingredients together in a pan, melt the butter, mix it, and pop it in the oven.

Traditional Scottish Fruit Loaf Recipe

This is actually a very traditional Scottish recipe that my mum (who is not Scottish but does live in Scotland) had begged from one of the SWRI ladies (Scottish Women’s Rural Institute) quite a while ago. And believe me, these ladies certainly know how to bake!

It really does make the yummiest fruit bread which your family and friends will love you for.

You can go ahead and use either UK or US cup sizes for this recipe as it will not affect the end results.

(I have also now added cups and grams to the printable recipe card + an explanation about the differences between the UK Vs US Cup sizes)

Fruit Loaf Variation Idea

Another little variation for this recipe is to replace the water with tea which gives a slightly different flavour. I like sometimes like to add earl grey tea which gives a lovely fragrant citrus twist to the fruit bread.

How Long Can You Keep Fruit Loaf?

Fruit loaf keeps really well and you can keep it in an airtight container for a few weeks (I normally wrap mine in greaseproof paper before placing it in the container). In fact, when my mum gave me the recipe she told me to wait a few days as the taste and texture actually improves. We, however, can hardly wait for the fruit loaf to cool before helping ourselves to large chunks – yum!. 🙂

How To Freeze The Fruit Bread

This fruit bread freezes well and I very often make 2 at a time and throw one in the freezer for a later date.I like to freeze mine already sliced so that I can grab a few slices at a time.

To freeze it I normally take the fruit bread out of the Loaf Tin and allow the loaf to cool on a rack, slice it, then wrap the individual slices tightly in Cling Filmand then seal in a freezer bag or plastic container.

What I really love about this Scottish Fruit Loaf Recipe is that it is very cheap to make and I always have the ingredients sitting in the cupboard.

I often enjoy a slice at breakfast time or give it to the kids as a snack when they come home from school.

Serve It During A High Tea

The fact that this recipe is so yummy and it can be made ahead it’s also rather nice to serve it together with other cakes and sandwiches during a High Tea(my Dutch Apple Pie, Cinnamon Rolls, & British Flapjacks recipes are also nice for this).

If you do go ahead and make this recipe I’d love to know how you get on because I’m sure it will become a firm family favourite.

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