All About IVF
The countdown has begun for Christmas and we all know that it is the time of the year when we all stuff our faces with cakes and cookies! The holiday season is all about having a good time with our loved ones and of course, relishing all the different types of desserts but, when it comes to the Christmas cake, every other country has its own unique ways of baking and decorating it! While in general, we assume the Christmas cake to be some kind of fruitcake but, it is not the case! Not all Christmas cakes are fruitcakes, some cultures may consider rum cake as Christmas cake, some may consider sponge cake as Christmas cake, and just like that, every other culture has its own variation of the festive cake.
In this article, we are making festival fruits cake.
Ingredients
- 1kg mixed dried fruit (use a mix of raisins, sultanas, currants, cherries, cranberries, prunes or figs)
- zest and juice 1 orange
- zest and juice 1 lemon
- 150ml brandy, Sherry, whisky or rum, plus extra for feeding
- 250g pack butter, softened
- 200g light soft brown sugar
- 175g plain flour
- 100g ground almond
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp mixed spice
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- 100g flaked almonds
- 4 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Method
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STEP 1
Put 1kg mixed dried fruit, the zest, and juice of 1 orange and 1 lemon, 150ml brandy or other alcohol, 250g softened butter, and 200g light, soft brown sugar in a large pan set over medium heat.
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STEP 2
Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 5 mins. Tip the fruit mixture into a large bowl and leave to cool for 30 mins.
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STEP 3
Heat oven to 150C/130C fan/gas 2. Line a deep 20cm cake tin with a double layer of baking parchment, then wrap a double layer of newspaper around the outside – tie with string to secure.
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STEP 4
Add 175g plain flour, 100g ground almonds, ½ tsp baking powder, 2 tsp mixed spice, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, ¼ tsp ground cloves, 100g flaked almonds, 4 large eggs, and 1 tsp vanilla extract to the fruit mixture and stir well, making sure there are no pockets of flour.
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STEP 5
Tip into your prepared tin, level the top with a spatula, and bake in the center of the oven for 2 hrs.
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STEP 6
Remove the cake from the oven, poke holes in it with a skewer, and spoon over 2 tbsp of your chosen alcohol. Leave the cake to cool completely in the tin.
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STEP 7
To store, peel off the baking parchment, then wrap well in cling film. Feed the cake with 1-2 tbsp alcohol every fortnight, until you ice it.
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STEP 8
Don’t feed the cake for the final week to give the surface a chance to dry before icing.
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