Rich Christmas Fruit Cake Recipe
This is my first Christmas post of 2014 and this one is a Rich Fruit Christmas Cake that my Grandma makes every year around this time and I usually help her as well but this year I decided to make this into a blog post because this cake is a family favourite and a tradition at Christmas.
Ingredients:
8 oz butter, softened
6 oz soft brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
Grated rind of 1 orange
4 tablespoons black treacle
4 eggs
10 oz plain flour
4 level teaspoons mixed spice
3 lb mixed fruit and cherries
4 tablespoons Brandy
Line a 8" or 9" square cake tin with grease proof paper and set aside. Preheat oven to Gas Mark 2.
Cut the butter into small chunks and put in a large mixing bowl.
Add the brown sugar and use a wooden spoon to cream together.
We filled the washing up bowl in the sink with hot water and placed the mixing bowl in there to make the butter softer and easier to mix. Be careful not to get any water in the bowl or burn yourself either. Continue mixing until the butter has melted and has creamed into the sugar. This will be a smooth batter.
Grate the rind of an orange onto a plate.
Add the rind and the vanilla essence into the butter and sugar mixture and beat together.
Crack the eggs into a jug and spoon the black treacle in the jug.
Use a fork to whisk the treacle and eggs together.
Weigh the flour and transfer to a separate mixing bowl.
Pour in a third of the treacle and eggs mixture and use a wooden spoon to beat in the mixture.
Add in four tablespoons of the sifted flour and mix together. Repeat this in the same gradual amounts, alternating between the treacle and flour, until all the treacle and sifted flour has been added.
Add the mixed spice into the mixture and blend together.
Mix the spice and all the flour and treacle until well blended.
We cut up some glacier cherries and added them into the mixture and beat in well.
The fruit we used is the luxury Christmas fruit and add this gradually to the mixture.
Our favourite thing about this cake is the Brandy. Every few weeks we add some more brandy to the baked cake and it seeps in and gives it a gorgeous flavour for Christmas.Don't worry, you won't become intoxicated by alcohol when you eat this.
Add the brandy a mix in well.
Transfer the mixture into the tin and smooth the top town with the back of the spoon.
Bake in the oven for about 4 hours until firm to the touch.
Leave to cool in the tin for a few hours before transferring to an air tight container wrapped in a layer of grease proof paper and then a layer of foil.
Each week or so, poke holes through the cake suing a skewer and pour a few tablespoons of brandy on the cake and wrap back up.
Remember to come back soon to see how to marzipan and ice this cake.
SparkleEyes x
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