Christmas / Fruit Cake
Hello again! Today's offering is something I had been reluctant to even taste in previous years let alone bake!! I had heard baking horror stories from my mum about fruit cakes, to date she has not managed to successfully create a fruit cake. She says hers always sink in the middle? No idea what she's doing wrong as my mum is a very clever baker and can do things I can't just like I can bake things that she can't. S'pose that's just how things are sometimes - my mum makes the most comforting cornish pasties I have ever tasted!! I really need to steal her recipe... Anyway... To the left you should be seeing a picture of an undecorated fruit cake and the ingredients list underneath. With all the best intentions in the world I would love to make everything from scratch using fruit chopped by myself but as we're on a very tight budget I used a bag of dried fruit mix from the value range at Morrisons - I think it cost about 65p. Much cheaper than buying different fruit individually and suited me down to the ground. I love baking and don't want to stop altogether just because of budget restrictions. Here's how I made it... |
Ingredients
* 500g dried fruit mix (with candied peel in) * 250ml water * 225g sugar (whichever you have, I used golden granulated) * 170g butter/margerine * 230g plain flour * 1tsp baking powder * 3 tsps mixed spice * 2 eggs, beaten |
1) Preheat your oven to 150C and grease a 22cm round tin (or tin of your choice, it will need to be at least an equivalent size as the 22cm is only just big enough). I always use butter or margerine to grease my tins, I don't like using lard which my mum used to... You will need to line with baking parchment too on the base of the tin and around the sides - make sure the paper is higher than the tin, reason will be clear later).
2) In a saucepan combine the water, sugar, butter and fruit over a medium heat. Bring to the boil and allow to bubble gently for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. You could add a couple of tsp's of mixed spice if you like a kick to your cake (as I now do). The aroma that this mixture produces permeates the whole house and will probably make you feel like trimming your Christmas tree! I managed to resist, just, but only because I am leaning toward buying a real Christmas tree this year and they're not on sale yet. I've heard people say how lovely it is to smell a real tree during the festive season, and I want a piece of that! Ok, on with the recipe... 3) In a large bowl sift the flour, baking powder and mixed spice together. 4) Add the boiled fruit mixture and mix well. I will warn you, this smell's so goood! Exactly like a bakery at Christmas I thought. Mix in the eggs. I particularly enjoyed this mixing part, I felt like a child mixing with mum, lovely memories. Memories are a big part of Christmas really aren't they? Remembering Christmas's gone by and lost loved ones yes, but also making new memories to look back on. I want my children to look back and feel totally fulfilled with their childhood. I want my daughter to bake cakes and lovely things for her family when she's older. She already enjoys baking and spending time in the kitchen and I want to encourage that. Rio likes helping in the kitchen when he can be bothered. He's very much a Daddy's boy and would much rather play football. Or watch tv. Right, next step 5) Pour carefully into your greased and lined tin. Depending on what tin you've used your mixture may be slightly higher than you tin (hence the high paper lining), don't worry about this - mine was slightly higher but it didn't overflow as the paper kept it in. Mostly. If you're worried you could always place your tin on a baking tray, this will help with lifting in and out of the oven too. 6)Bake for approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes or until a skewer/knife comes out clean. Allow to cool in tin before turning out. As I mentioned earlier, this year was the very first time I have ever tasted and baked this, despite having a fruit wedding cake. Hey I imagine you could probably use this as a wedding cake too if decorated appropriately. This particular cake in the pictures was supposed to last us a while but was gone within the week! So I have since made another which the family have so far left alone. I like a small slice occasionally with some Elmlea or similar, with the cake slightly warmed up - 20 seconds in a microwave is enough. Lots of Love, thank you for reading! Kaye xx |