Jamaican Easter Bun (Bakery-style)

A 2 lb loaf tin is the standard large rectangular bread or cake tin used in UK baking. The “2 lb” refers to the traditional dough weight it was designed to hold (about two pounds of bread dough), not the tin’s own weight.

In modern metric terms, a typical 2 lb loaf tin measures roughly 23 cm long × 13 cm wide × 7–8 cm deep (about 9 × 5 × 3 inches). Small variations are normal, but anything close to that size counts as a 2 lb tin.

For your Jamaican Easter Bun specifically, the mixture is quite heavy and dense, so the 2 lb tin matters more than with a light sponge — it gives the correct tall, sliceable bakery shape.

Print Recipe

Equipment

2ib loaf tin (Standard large loaf)

Ingredients

Dry ingredients

300 g plain flour
150 g dark brown sugar or muscovado
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp mixed spice
½ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp salt

Dried fruit

200 g mixed dried fruit
75 g raisins or currants
50 g chopped peel optional but traditional

Wet ingredients

250 ml stout Guinness or similar
120 ml milk
2 tbsp black treacle or molasses
1 tbsp browning or extra treacle
1 egg
60 g melted butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp almond essence important for authentic flavour

Glaze

2 tbsp honey or warmed apricot jam

Instructions

Heat oven to 170°C fan (180°C conventional). Line a 2 lb loaf tin.
Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, spices, and salt. Stir in the dried fruit and peel so everything is coated.
In another bowl whisk the stout, milk, treacle, browning, egg, melted butter, vanilla and almond essence. Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and stir to a thick, sticky batter. It should be softer than bread dough but thicker than cake batter; add a splash more milk if needed.
Spoon into the tin and smooth the top. Bake for about 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes until firm and a skewer comes out clean. If it darkens too quickly, cover loosely with foil.
While still warm, brush generously with honey or warmed jam for the classic shiny bakery finish. Cool completely before slicing, as the texture firms up as it rests.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!