irish soda bread

many years ago, when i was working on my first book, "Having Tea", I asked friends and their mothers for recipes. lauren and claudia fleming sent me their mother elvira fleming's recipe for irish soda bread. my irish nana made her version with buttermilk, but they both used raisins and caraway seeds... I'm looking forward to making it for saint patricks day with a big pot of irish breakfast tea to mark the occasion.

mrs.fleming's irish soda bread
makes one 8" loaf

ingredients:
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
2 large eggs, beaten
1 pint sour cream
1 cup dark raisins
2 tsp caraway seeds

preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
grease and flour a round 8" cake pan.
mix together the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, baking powder.
fold in the egs and sour cream.
add the raisins and caraway seeds.
do not overbeat.
pour the batter into the prepared pan.
smooth the surface and use a knife to cut a cross on top of dough.
bake for about 1 hour, or until loaf sounds hollow when tapped on bottom.
Remove from pan and cool on a wire rack.
from Having Tea, by Tricia Foley
photograph by Keith Scott Morton