Rich Dark Fruit Cake

I love this cake it's great for Christmas and to use as a traditional wedding cake.  If you are not a lover of fruit cake ( like I once was ) you should give this recipe a try it's beautifully moist and you can add more of the fruits you like.  

This recipe will make enough for a 8 inch round cake or 7 inch square.

The cake is beautifully moist and very boozy.  You can make a non alcholic version by soaking the fruit in cold tea, Apple or orange juice. 

To start you will need

2lb of dried fruit and mixed peel you can use any dried fruits and peel that you like as long as it weighs out to the 2lb use a good combination of fruit & peel you can use less of the fruits you don't like and more of those you do and a good 70cl bottle of brandy my rule is if you wouldn't drink it it's no good for your cake. 

I like to use some fried cranberries in my cake if it's for Christmas. 

Tip: You can use sherry, run or whiskey in place of the brandy. 

Get yourself a good sized bowl and add all the fruits and peel add half the bottle of brandy or non alcoholic alternative and cover with cling film the fruit will be soaking for a minimum of one week but if you can let it soak for longer all the better.  Stir the fruit daily and if the fruit absorbs all the liquid add a splash more.

Once your fruit as been well soaked you are ready to start making the cake.  

You will need 

8 oz Plain flour 

8 oz Butter

4 Eggs

4 oz Molasses brown sugar

4 oz soft brown sugar

1 good tablespoon of Black treacle 

2oz of Ground almonds 

Grated Rind 1 lemon 

Grated rind 2 oranges

1 teaspoon of Mixed spice 

1 teaspoon of Ground nutmeg 

( you can add an additional teaspoon of mixed spice if you prefer the cake to be more spicy ) 

Begin by sieving all the dry ingredients together the flour and spices and add the ground almonds leave to one side.

Next grate the rind of the lemon and 2 oranges into the the bowl with the fruit. 

1: Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.

2: Add the eggs whisking in 1 at a time. 

3: Add the sifted flour and spices in 2 parts ensuring the flour is fully combined before adding the second half.

Next add the fruit use a slotted spoon to drain off any excess liquid from the fruit if there is any ? and mix until the fruit as been evenly distributed throughout the mixture 

Pour into a 8 inch tin that's been fully lined with baking parchment use a double layer of parchment on the sides and bottom of the tin.  Level off the mixture with the back of a spoon and add a piece of baking parchment over the top cut a small hole in the middle of the paper to allow any steam to escape. 

Bake in a pre heated oven at 140c for 41/2 hours. You can give the cake little turns during the baking time to ensure a even bake the cake is ready when a skewer comes out clean.  The cake should be quite firm and a little springy to the touch allow the cake to cool completely in the tin.

Cooking times vary so check your cake several times during cooking if need be you can turn your oven up or down a little.  4 1/2 hours is the approx time but I have had some cook a little quicker. 

Once cool the cake should have become a lot more firmer DONT WORRY it's not over baked this will allow you to feed the cake with more brandy.

Remove the cake from the tin and leave the lining paper on the cake remove the top piece of baking parchment and pierce the cake several times with a tooth pick and sprinkle a few teaspoons of brandy over the cake replace the paper back on top and wrap in more baking parchment then in a good layer of tin foil.

Always ensure the cake is well wrapped in parchment paper before wrapping in tin foil the tin foil should not come into contact with the cake. 

Feed the cake every few days with a teaspoon or 2 of the brandy until the cake is beautifully matured and moist.  Some people feed their cakes for months but I normally do 4-6 weeks 

After this time the cake is ready to cover in marzipan ready for a layer of fondant or royal icing. 

For a summer fruit cake I make in the same way but use rum to soak the fruit and feed the cake. I use dried tropical fruits papya, mango etc I also omit the black treacle and molasses instead I replace with golden syrup and use light brown soft sugar. 

Happy baking ❤️