Bishop's Bread with Candied Fruit and Chocolate
Biskupský chlebíček is a Czech fruit loaf that most of us associate with Christmas, but you can enjoy it at any time of year. It is easy to make and the batter scented with candied fruit tastes wonderful. The loaf works well as a festive breakfast or as an afternoon dessert with coffee.
Total: 1 h 15 min
Servings: 10
Method
01.
Crack the eggs and separate the whites from the yolks. Put the yolks in a bowl and the whites in a clean mixer bowl, then whisk them to stiff peaks and tip the peaks into the bowl.
02.
You do not need to wash the mixer bowl; simply weigh the sugar straight into it, add the softened butter and beat until the mixture is creamy and lightly fluffy, for at least 5 minutes. Then gradually beat in the yolks.
03.
Now just fold the chopped almonds, two thirds of the candied fruit and the flour with the baking powder into the mixture, a little at a time, using a spatula. Finally comes the whisked egg whites: add them in batches and carefully fold them into the batter with the spatula. The batter should be compact, but try to achieve this with as few movements as possible.
04.
Grease a loaf tin with butter and dust it with coarse flour. Tip the batter into it, spread it evenly and bake in an oven preheated to 160 °C. The loaf will take about 45 minutes to bake. Test whether it is baked through with a skewer.
05.
Turn the finished loaf out onto a wire rack and leave it to cool completely.
06.
Turn the loaf upside down. If it has risen too much, trim it lightly so that it sits level. Place a heatproof bowl over a saucepan with a little water and break the chocolate into it. Bring the water to the boil, melt the chocolate and stir in 2 tsp of butter. Pour the chocolate over the loaf and use a spatula to spread it carefully over the top and the sides. Sprinkle the remaining pieces of candied fruit on top and leave to set.
