Bragging Rights ~ Irish Bread

My brother and his wife have been bragging on this recipe for years; quick and simple no-raise sweet bread that takes about a split-second to make. Finally I had the opportunity to try it and they were right! This recipe turned out a crusty, not-too-sweet, light bread. You could definitely choose different nuts and dried fruits to your liking. You could serve it with dinner alongside a main course; a hearty stew for example, or enjoy it as a stand-alone dessert with tea, like I did!

Irish Bread

1/4 lb butter (1 stick)

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

pinch of salt

1 tsp vanilla

2 1/2 cups sifted flour

1 Tbs baking powder

3/4 cup of milk
1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Melt butter in a large pot, add sugar, making sure it is well mixed. Remove from

heat and let it cool a moment. Add eggs (if the pot is still too hot, you'll have scrambled eggs!), salt and vanilla. Mix in sifted flour, baking powder and milk. The batter will be very thick (I had to pat it into the pan)

Mix in raisins and walnuts.

Pour into a well-greased loaf pan and bake at 350° for approximately one hour.

Note: for some reason, my bread only took 45min to bake (altitude??) so check at 45 minutes

 Great texture and a nice crunchy crust

Perfect, warm with a little pat of butter and hot tea...many thanks to my brother and his wife!
BTW, I have no idea why it is called Irish bread...anybody?