RICH FRUIT CAKE
Prep Time
12hrs for fruit to soak plus 30-40 minutes
Cook Time
3 – 3 ½ hrs
Makes
2.5kg cake – Serves 20
Ingredients
100g Buderim Ginger Glacé Ginger or Naked Ginger, finely chopped
125g raisins, chopped in half
125g sultanas
80g currants
50g glacé cherries, cut in half
100mL cream or sweet sherry
1 1/4 cups unbleached or regular plain flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon mixed spice
125g butter
125g firmly packed dark brown or dark muscovado sugar
3 x 59g eggs, lightly beaten
30g slivered almond roughly chopped
Decoration [optional]
60g [40 almonds] whole blanched almond
Method
- You need to begin cake night before baking. In a bowl or plastic bag place Glacé Ginger or Naked Ginger, dried fruits, cherries and sherry. Stir or massage to combine, cover bowl or secure plastic bag and leave to soak for 12 hours.
- Carefully butter or grease a 20cm round or square cake pan. Line only the base with a disc of non stick baking paper.
- Preheat oven to slow [150°C].
- Sift together flour, baking powder and spice.
- In a large bowl cream butter and sugar until soft, creamy and fluffy.
- Add eggs, a portion at a time, beating well after each addition. If mixture starts to curdle, add about 1 tablespoon of flour mixture.
- Fold in flour mixture. Finally, stir in soaked fruit mixture and chopped almonds, mix gently until well combined.
- Spoon mixture into prepared cake pan. If desired arrange blanched whole almonds around perimeter of cake pressing down very gently, otherwise they will disappear on baking!
- Bake in preheated oven for 3 to 3½ hour or until when cake is tested with a fine cake skewer and it comes out clean. Cool on wire cake rack for 30 minutes, and then remove cake from cake pan and place on cake rack to finish cooling.
Helpful Notes
A standard Australian Metric 250ml cup & 20mL tablespoon measuring sets are used
New Zealand Metric tablespoon measure = 15mL or 3 teaspoons
