This cake has unusual proportions of fruit.
Ingredients
200 g | Raisins, seedless (Main) |
200 g | Sticky raisins, seeded |
200 g | Sultanas (Main) |
200 g | Currants (Main) |
75 g | Glace cherries |
50 g | Mixed peel |
50 g | Blanched almonds |
50 g | Marmalade |
¼ cup | Brandy |
200 g | Butter |
200 g | Brown sugar |
1 Tbsp | Treacle |
4 | Eggs |
½ tsp | Vanilla |
250 g | Flour |
1 pinch | Ground cinnamon |
1 pinch | Ground cloves |
1 pinch | Nutmeg |
1 pinch | Ground ginger |
1 pinch | Mace |
2 tsp | Orange zest, finely grated |
1 tsp | Lemon zest, finely grated |
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- First prepare the fruit. Pick through the various raisins to find any stray stalks. Roughly chop the seeded raisins. Finely chop the cherries and peel, and sliver the almonds.
- Put all the fruit and nuts in a bowl with the marmalade and brandy. Mix thoroughly together. This can be done a day ahead if you wish.
- Cream the butter and brown sugar together until soft and light, then beat in the treacle.
- Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla. If the mixture starts to curdle add a tablespoon of the flour.
- Sift the flour with the spices and beat lightly into the creamed mixture. Beat in the 2 tsp of orange zest and 1 tsp of lemon zest. Mix in the fruit. Line a deep 20cm square cake time with greaseproof paper.
- Pile the mixture into the tin, smoothing the top evenly. Bake at 160C for 1½hours. Reduce the heat to 150C and bake for another 30 to 60 minutes until the cake is firm right to the middle and a metal skewer comes out clean. Turn off the oven, open the door and leave the cake in the oven for another 20 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and cool completely before turning out. Wrap in a brandy-soaked cloth, if you wish, and store in an airtight tin or plastic bag.
- This cake is fine to cut and eat the next day, but will mature in flavour if kept for three weeks before cutting. It will keep for a year if dabbed with brandy from time to time and kept in a cool place.