The smell of baked Boston Bread wafting through the house transports me back to my childhood. Those memories fill my heart with such joy. I was blessed with the best nana (granny). She always had Boston Bread in her pantry whenever we visited, it was the staple treat in her home. Smothered with butter, and served with a hot cup of tea, it was yummy. This recipe is an adaption of the one she made. I’ve tweaked it here and there to perfect it, truly making it the best Boston Bread recipe you’ll ever find. I hope you’ll love it as much as I do, and that it too can become your family tradition!
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Best Boston Bread Recipe
A quick video tutorial on making this Boston Bread recipe, with all my useful tips & tricks to help you bake like a pro!
Best Boston Bread Recipe
Copyright © 2021 – This adapted original recipe is by Taryn Bloem – thesupermomsclub.com
Prep Time: 20 minutes + cooling time
Baking Time: 55-60 minutes
Oven Temp: 160° C or 320° F
Yield: 3 loaves (11cm x 21cm loaf tins)
Ingredients:
250g Chopped Dates
1 Cup Fruit Cake Mix
1¾ Cups Sugar
¼ Cup Apricot Jam
½ tsp Salt
3 Tbsp Butter
3 Cups Boiling Water
2 tsp Baking Soda (bicarb)
3 Eggs
3¼ Cups Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
1 Cup Chopped Pecan Nuts
Method:
In a large pot, add the chopped dates, fruit cake mix, sugar (white or brown), apricot jam, salt, butter and boiling water. Give it a stir to combine and place it on a stovetop, on a medium to low heat, and allow it to simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Allow the mixture to cool, roughly to the temperature of a baby’s bath water. This is very important, because if the eggs are added while it’s hot, they’ll start to cook, and it will destroy your bake!
In the meantime, prepare your loaf tins by greasing them with some butter, and then add a tablespoon of flour to coat, tapping off the excess.
Then beat the eggs until they are light and fluffy, with lots of little bubbles.
Once the stovetop mixture has cooled, add the baking soda (Bicarb) and eggs to it, stirring with a spatula until combined. Note: the mixture may bubble slightly, that’s just the baking soda interacting with the other ingredients, and it’s no cause for concern!
Next, sift in the flour and baking powder, and beat the mixture until it has combined. It should be the consistency of cake mix. If you find that your batter is thick and doughy, you can add a little extra water to get the right consistency. This can happen if the initial mixture was boiled at a high temperature, as more water would have evaporated.
Lastly, stir in the chopped pecan nuts, ensuring they are suspended evenly in the batter.
Divide the batter evenly between the 3 loaf pans (roughly 630g to 650g each) and place them in a preheated oven. Bake at 160˚ Celsius or 320 ˚ Fahrenheit for 55-60 minutes, until golden.
Once cooled, slice and serve with butter. Enjoy!
Freezes for up to 6 months.
The Best Boston Bread Recipe
Equipment
- 3 (11cm x 21cm) Loaf Tins
Ingredients
- 250 grams Dates Chopped
- 1 cup Fruit Cake Mix
- 1¾ cups Sugar White or Brown
- ¼ cup Apricot Jam
- ½ tsp Salt
- 3 Tbsp Butter
- 3 cups Water Boiling
- 2 tsp Baking Soda (Bicarb)
- 3 Eggs
- 3¼ cups Cake Flour
- 2 tsp Baking Powder
- 1 cup Pecan Nuts Chopped
Instructions
Method:
- In a large pot, add the chopped dates, fruit cake mix, sugar (white or brown), apricot jam, salt, butter and boiling water. Give it a stir to combine and place it on a stovetop, on a medium to low heat, and allow it to simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
NB: ALLOW THE MIXTURE TO COOL
- Allow the mixture to cool, roughly to the temperature of a baby’s bathwater. This is very important, because if the eggs are added while it’s hot, they’ll start to cook, and it will destroy your bake!
Continue With Recipe Prep:
- In the meantime, prepare your loaf tins by greasing them with some butter, and then add a tablespoon of flour to coat, tapping off the excess.
- Then beat the eggs until they are light and fluffy, with lots of little bubbles.
- Once the stovetop mixture has cooled, add the baking soda (Bicarb) and eggs to it, stirring with a spatula until combined. Note: the mixture may bubble slightly, that’s just the baking soda interacting with the other ingredients, and it’s no cause for concern!
- Next, sift in the flour and baking powder, and beat the mixture until it has combined. It should be the consistency of cake mix. If you find that your batter is thick and doughy, you can add a little extra water to get the right consistency. This can happen if the initial mixture was boiled at a high temperature, as more water would have evaporated.
- Lastly, stir in the chopped pecan nuts, ensuring they are suspended evenly in the batter.
Baking Instruction & Oven Temperature:
- Divide the batter evenly between the 3 loaf pans (roughly 650g each) and place them in a preheated oven. Bake at 160˚ Celsius or 320 ˚ Fahrenheit for 55-60 minutes, until golden.
- Once cooled, slice and serve with butter. Enjoy!
- Freezes for up to 6 months.
Video
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Hi Taryn,
The recipe looks great. I am planning to bake it. Just wanted to check with you … I am not very fond of the fruit pieces. Could I leave it out or replace it with something ?
Thanks,
Hi Rakhee,
You could leave out the fruit cake mix and replace it with more nuts or raisins (although you don’t like fruit pieces). You will need to substitute though, otherwise your volume would be compromised and the loaf won’t be as high. The fruit cake mix gives it a lovely flavor. I’m also not a big fan of fruit cake mix generally, but I absolutely love it in this💗.
Hope that helps! Happy baking😊
I only found you this week on you tube and decided to bake this recipe today, needless to say it is AMAZING so delicious and moist and rose beautifully thank you