This spiced and super-rich fruit cake is a delight for the festive seasons, that can be enjoyed at family meals and parties. At the time of holidays, it becomes a great gift and also pairs well with a glass of cherry.
INGREDIENTS
500 gm dried fruit,( cherries, cranberries, crimson and raisins )
300 ml of orange juice
125 ml brandy
125 gm softened butter,
125 gm dark muscovado sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
40 gm ground hazelnuts
125 gm plain flour
½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp each ground nutmeg and ground allspice
METHOD
1. Combine dried fruit, orange juice and brandy in a bowl, stir to combine, cover and set aside to macerate, stirring occasionally (8 hours-overnight).
2. Preheat oven to 150C. Beat butter and sugar in an electric mixer until light and fluffy (2-3 minutes).
3. Add eggs one at a time and beat to combine (if the mixture curdles, add 1 tbsp of the flour).
4. Add ground hazelnuts and dried fruit mixture (reserve 80ml soaking liquid) and stir to combine. Sieve over the flour, baking powder and spices and stir to combine. Spoon into four 10cm-diameter cake tins buttered and lined with 2 layers of baking paper.
5. Bake until cakes are golden and a skewer withdraws clean (1 hour-1 hour 10 minutes). Cool on a wire rack in the tin for 30 minutes, then turn out and cool completely.
It's best to prepare cakes weeks in advance and continuously feeding them every week till the cake to be served.
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