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RICH FRUIT CAKE

This recipe makes a rich fruit cake that is perfect for Weddings, Christenings and other Celebrations as well as for the traditional English Christmas Cake. We used this recipe at Party Animal for over 20 years and it never failed to get a good response whether used for Christmas, weddings or any other special occasion.

It is best to bake the cake several months before use so that it matures and the flavours develop. The recipe below is for an 8" square / 9" round cake approximately 3" deep.

INGREDIENTS

295g raisins
295g sultanas
280g currants
145g dried apricots
175g glace cherries
100g mixed peel (some people leave this out but as long as it is well soaked it adds an extra 'bite' to the mix)
100g chopped nuts (I personally use a mix of almond nibs, almond flakes and chopped walnuts)
12ml finely grated lemon rind
35ml fresh lemon juice
60ml brandy (we use what we know as soaking mix - 2 parts sherry: 1 part rum: 1 part brandy - a perfect mix for flavour and alcohol content is unimportant as that will burn off during cooking - that's why you can use this even for teetotallers!)

325g dark brown sugar
325g butter
30ml treacle (I prefer to use a 50:50 mix of black treacle and golden syrup)
5 eggs
20ml (4tspn) mixed spice
70g ground almonds
370g plain flour

METHOD

Chop the apricots finely and the cherries to taste - I like to have some large pieces of cherry in the mix.

Add all the fruit to a bowl along with the lemon juice and rind, chopped nuts, and soaking mix and cover

Leave for at least 3-4 days (up to about 1 week is fine) to allow the fruit to soak up the liquid. Shake or stir occasionally to make sure all the fruit gets soaked thoroughly.

Line a greased tin with a double layer of greaseproof paper and grease well.

Mix together the sugar, butter, eggs, treacle, spice, almonds and flour and then stir in the soaked fruit and any juice that is left.

Fill tins and smooth mixture with a damp spoon. (A good trick to make sure the mix is even is to bang the tins down a few times which should remove any air pockets.)

Bake in a preheated oven at approx 140°C. For about 3 - 3½ hours.

To test - press surface of cake lightly - it should feel firm to the touch. Take out cake and listen to it! If it sings (whistles) it is not quite ready so pop back in for a minute or two.

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