Perfect paleo irish barmbrack is a traditional Irish fruit loaf. It is also known as Breac, meaning speckled! This fun and healthy twist on traditional brack is made paleo and gluten free. It is perfectly moist with hints of sweetness.
Ingredients needed to make perfect paleo irish barmbrack
- Almond flour
- Tapioca flour
- Coconut flour
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Eggs
- Coconut sugar
- Applesauce
- Tea
- Raisins
Why perfect paleo irish brack is special to me!
Growing up my family and I would visit Ireland on a yearly basis as our grandparents lived there. It was always the highlight of our year because it meant Irish breakfasts, scones, brack, porridge, shortbread, hiking, and spending time with our grandparents (just to name a few). Due to the time change we would always sleep into until about 10am and then we would be woken up by the delicious smell of breakfast.
My grandparents always had the best breakfast spread. And by best breakfast spread I mean endless amounts of toast and jam, brown bread, brack, porridge, cereal, and fruit. It was the BEST. My granny and grandpa would always make sure we were well fed (and that also meant sneaking us her famous shortbread cookies when my parents weren’t looking).
They also always had fresh loaves of brack during breakfast and it reminds me so much of our time there. In Ireland, brack was always on repeat – it’s actually my dads all time favorite loaf. Since my family enjoys eating paleo I knew I needed to create a paleo brack recipe. Using a combination of almond flour, tapioca flour and coconut flour makes this loaf quite perfect.
What is Barmbrack? Aka Brack, Fruit Loaf, Fruit Cake
Barmbark also known as Brack is a traditional Irish fruit loaf. It’s also known as a tea cake and can be eaten in cake form! It’s a moist loaf packed with tea soaked raisins. In gaelic it’s called ‘Breac’ meaning speckled loaf due to the raisins. This delicious loaf can be enjoyed around the holidays, with breakfast, or with your afternoon tea.
Making barmbrack with paleo and gluten free flours
For this recipe I used a combination of of almond flour, tapioca flour and coconut flour. This flour combination makes the texture of this loaf soft, fluffy and moist.
Almond flour: Almond flour is used as the main flour in this recipe. It is a great paleo and gluten free flour substitute. It’s lower and carbs and higher in fats which results in moist and tender baked goods. I love using almond flour as its made with only one ingredient: ground almonds! It is also a healthy alternative to traditional flour. It is lower in carb and higher in fat content than traditional flour but it also has many other nutrients like vitamin E and magnesium!
Tapioca flour: I love incorporating tapioca flour into my recipes. Tapioca flour helps bind this loaf together and also helps create the perfect texture. For this recipe, it pairs nicely with the almond flour! I really love the combination of these two flours together.
Coconut flour: The trick to this recipe is adding a hint of coconut flour. It absorbs a lot of moisture in baking so you have to be sure to add enough liquid. Coconut flour has slight coconut taste and smell and adds a little sweetness. Since we only use two tablespoons of coconut flour in this recipe, you don’t really get any coconut taste or smell.
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Did you make this Barmrack?
If you make this recipe, I would really appreciate a review! You can also find and follow me on Instagram and Pinterest. I would love for you to follow along and share what you make: tag me @braesbites. I love hearing from you!
Paleo Irish Barmbrack Loaf (aka Brack)
Equipment
- Loaf pan 9×5
Ingredients
- 2 cups almond flour
- ½ cup tapioca flour
- 2 tbsp coconut flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 2 eggs
- ⅓ cup coconut sugar use ¼ cup for less sweetness
- ⅓ cup applesauce
- ¼ cup black tea
- 1 cup raisins raisins or golden raisins
- 1 ½ cup hot black tea use 2 tea bags
Instructions
- First you will need to soak your raisins overnight in hot tea. In a medium bowl, add 1 cup raisins, 2 tea bags, and 1 1/2 cup hot/boiling water. Let this sit overnight or for 10-12 hours.
- After soaking the raisins, drain the tea and tea bags from the bowl. Reserve 1/4 cup of tea which you will use!
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease a loaf pan with cooking spray and line it with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl combine the almond flour, tapioca flour, coconut flour, and baking powder. Mix until combined and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, coconut sugar, applesauce, 1/4 cup tea, and raisins. Whisk until combined.
- Pour the dry flour mixture into the wet ingredients and fold just until combined. Don't over mix!
- Pour the batter into your prepared loaf pan and bake for 45 minutes.
- Let the loaf cool before slicing. This will allow the loaf to set and it will be much easier to cut. Enjoy!
Just like my grandma used to make it! Love that its Paleo! I brought it to my Crossfit gym and the Box loved it!
Thanks so much, Micky! I’m so glad you love the barmbrack as much as I do
awesome thanks for sharing
Can you make the batter a head of time and cook it later?
Hi Candice! I have not tried making the batter and cooking it at a later date. So I can not speak to the result of the bread after letting the batter sit. If you do try that please let me know how it comes out! Additionally, you could bake the loaf, let it cool completely and store it in the freezer for a later date. Simply let it thaw at room temperature for a few hours. Thanks!
Awesome thanks for sharing
Thanks for the feedback, Nick! Glad you liked this recipe!
Hello! Could rye or whole wheat flour be substituted in this recipe? Perhaps mix in oat flour?
Hi there! I have not tried substituting wheat or rye flour. I don’t believe the recipe will come out correctly since these flours are heavier in weight than almond flour and tapioca flour (you would have to use less flour). If you give it a try, please let me know how it comes out.
hello, is there any possible substitute/s for tapioca and coconut flour?
Hi! You can use arrowroot flour instead of tapioca!
Could we take out the tapioca flour and stay with almond + coconut flour? Or should we get a substitute?
Hi Leila, you could use corn starch or arrow root flour instead of tapioca flour! Those two options should work as substitutes.
Hello, is it possible to take out the tapioca flour in this and stick with almond + coconut ? Or is there any subs for it?