Step 2: Mrs Christmas' Cake

So here is where you get your bake on! Take your lovely macerated boozy fruit. Personally I think you need to soak it at least for a week, but I much prefer months and for 2012 I started on my birthday in October.

I usually make a couple of 8inch round cake but the quantities below will make a 8inch round or 7inch square or 2 x 6inch rounds.

I usually weigh the fruit after I have soaked it, but that's because I tend to grab the packets and go from there.

Here's the precise ingredients for you.
Soaked dried fruit:
300g sultanas
200g raisins
150g chopped dried prunes
150g chopped dried apricots
50g glacé cherries
50g dried cranberries

225g plain flour
225g soft butter (salted is fine)
225g soft brown sugar
1/4tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/2tsp ground mixed spice
1/2tsp ground cinnamon
4 medium eggs
50g blanched almonds
50g roughly chopped Brazil nuts
Grated zest and juice of an lemon
Grated zest and juice of an orange

Couple of Tablespoons of brandy or rum or sherry - basically whatever tipple you fancy! (obviously not a creamy liqueur like baileys)


First things first preheat oven to 140c - its worth noting if using a fan over you can reduce the cooking time by about 25 minutes. But keep an eye on it and the skewer test will tell you when the cakes ready.

Line your cake tin really well with baking parchment or grease proof paper. A habit of Mum's which I carry on in her place -  I also tie brown paper around the outside of the tin once I have placed the raw mixture into the tin. this helps stop the cake browning too quickly and catching on the edges before the middles cooked through.

First of all beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.I use my Kitchenaid for this but an electric hand whisk is fine and also good old fashioned elbow grease too. Then beat in one egg at a time to the buttery mixture, making sure all the eggs been thoroughly mixed in before adding the next egg. if the mixture starts to curdle have no fear the addition of a little flour from flour allowance will bring it back. After all the eggs are incorporated sift the flour and spices together into the batter and fold it in well. Now fold in the fruit, nuts, zest and a table spoon of the juice or the lemon and orange. All the fruit should be well incorporated and covered by the yummy batter.

Place the cake mix into the lined tin and spread out evenly with a little dip in the middle - this means as the cake cooks you'll get a nice level surface.

Bake your cake in the bottom of the oven for 4 hours and 30 minutes. Check the cake after two hours and cover the top with a square of grease proof paper so the cake won't brown too quickly. Check the cake at 4 hours and do the skewer test in the centre if it comes out clean the cakes ready of not leave for another 30 minutes and test again. The cake may need a little bit longer but keep an eye on it and as soon as the skewer is clean its ready.

Cool the cake in its tin for half an hour and then turn the cake out onto a wire rack and cool completely. Wrap well in grease proof paper and tin foil and store in an air tight container until your ready to ice the cake.

I've also been known to cool the cake in the tin because usually its the early hours of the morning and I just want to go to bed.

Now the cake is cooled lightly prick the cake all over with a cocktail stick and gently feed the cake with a few spoonfuls of your chosen spirit. Again you aren't looking to saturate the cake and to be honest I don't do this - mainly because my fruits been soaked for so long it couldn't dry out in a rehab clinic!