Traditional Rich Christmas Cake

Women’s Weekly Three-in-One Christmas Mix This is my favourite cake and pudding recipe, I’ve been making it for years. It’s such a versatile mix. The basic fruit mixture will make one very moist cake (22cm round), one steamed pudding, and about 20 fruit mince tarts. Prepare this basic fruit mixture up to a month ahead, the longer the fruit soaks, the better.

Mini cakes can also be cut from a larger one, or use 400g tuna tins for baking, they are the perfect size, just make sure to run them through a dishwasher cycle before using, line them with baking paper and brown paper, and cook for about 1.5 hours.

Ingredients

Basic Fruit Mix

• 6 cups (1kg) sultanas
• 2½ cups (375g) dried currants
• 2¼ cups (425g) raisins, chopped
• 1½ cups (250g) seeded, dried dates, chopped finely
• 1½ cups (250g) seeded prunes, chopped finely
• 1¼ cups (250g) glacé cherries
• ½ cup (125g) finely chopped glacé apricots
• ½ cup (115g) finely chopped glacé pineapple
• ½ cup (115g) finely chopped glacé ginger
• ¾ cup (120g) mixed peel
• 3 medium apples (450g) peeled, grated coarsely
• 2/3 cup (220g) marmalade or fig jam
• 2 tablespoons finely grated orange rind
• ¼ cup (60ml) lemon juice
• 2 cups (440g) firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon mixed spice
• 1 1/3 cups (330ml) orange liqueur, rum, brandy, whisky or sherry

For the Cake

• 1/2 basic fruit mixture
• 250g butter, melted, cooled
• 5 eggs, lightly beaten
• 450g plain flour, sifted
• 2-3 tbs Parisian Essence ( optional) if you like a darker cake

Method

For the Basic Fruit Mix

1. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, mix well by hand. Cover tightly or place in an airtight container. Store the mixture in a cool, dark cupboard for up to a month (or longer) Stir the mixture every few days.

For the Cake

2. Pre heat oven 150C. Turn off fan-forced option if possible. Otherwise turn oven down to 140C.
3. Grease and line the tin with 2 layers of heavy duty brown paper and 1 layer of baking paper, grease the paper.
4. Place the fruit mixture into a large bowl (or a clean kitchen sink, plug in).
5. Use your hands to mix in the flour, eggs and butter (add essence to butter, if using). Mix well to combine.
6. Push handfuls of cake mixture firmly into the corners of the tin, press remaining mixture evenly into tin; level the top of the cake. Decorate the top of the cake with blanched almonds, if desired.
7. Bake for 2 ½ - 3 hours on the bottom shelf of the oven, for a 22cm cake, and about 2 hours for a 12 cm cake.

To test if cake is cooked

8. Feel the top of cake with your finger after the minimum time. If it feels firm, remove from oven, test by pushing a fine knife blade right down to the base of the tin, gently withdraw the knife. The cake is cooked if the knife blade is free from uncooked cake mixture. Do not confuse moistness from fruit with sticky, uncooked cake mixture.
9. Mini Cakes can be made in 400g Baked Bean or Tuna tins, bake for about 1 hour - perfect for gifts
10. Using a fine skewer, prick a few holes in the top of the cake, and spoon on another tablespoon of your chosen alcohol. Wrap the warm cakes in a bath towel and let them cool slowly for 12 hours. Remove from the tin, cover with foil and clingwrap and store in a cool dark place, giving them a ‘little drink’ every week or so.

Special Notes

11. If you need a large mixing ‘bowl’ for your cake or pudding, I use the kitchen sink, with the plug in of course. Just give it a good clean before use. Plenty of room to mix and very easy to clean. For a large mix, your hands with disposable gloves, make great kitchen utensils.
12. If you can turn off the fan-forced option on your oven, do so. The conventional oven setting will give the best results when cooking a fruit cake.
13. Always cook a fruitcake on the bottom shelf of your oven. For extra insulation place the cake tin on an oven tray on the shelf.
14. Make sure you rotate the cake halfway through cooking, especially if you have a ‘hot spot’ in your oven.
15. When the cake is cooked, remove from the oven, prick the surface with a skewer and give it ‘drink’ (at least 2 -3 tbs) of whichever alcohol you have used in the cake.
16. Leave the cake in its tin and cover with foil. Now wrap the whole tin in a bath towel and leave to cool overnight. This slow cooling helps to retain the cakes moisture.
17. Next day, remove the cake from the tin, and also remove the lining paper. Securely wrap the cake in clingfilm and place in an airtight storage container and store in a cool dark place until needed.
18. A quick and very decorative icing can be made by using ready-made fondant (available in the supermarket). Just roll it out, cut out stars with a pastry cutter and lay them on the cake, dust with a little sifted icing sugar