The original recipe is by Dan Lepard and I’ve altered it slightly. This is a rich moist all purpose fruit cake. You can make it a few weeks before Christmas and feed it alcohol. Or, if like me, you live with people that just love fruit cake, it can be for any occasion. 🙂
Ingredients:
- 105g golden syrup
- 125g dark brown sugar
- 100ml double cream
- 7g mixed spice
- 5g cinnamon
- 125g butter
- 1 tsp lemon extract
- Zest of a large orange
- 3 medium free-range eggs
- 500g currants, raisins,mixed peel (any dried fruit)
- 250g natural glacé cherries
- 250g strong white bread flour
- 1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- brandy, whisky or alcohol of your choice
Baking time: 2 hours
Preheat the oven to 170C/335F/Gas 3 and line a round deep cake tin with non-stick paper. Place the syrup, sugar, cream and spices in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Take off the heat and add the butter in small chunks and stir until melted, then add the orange and lemon extracts (or zest). Then add the eggs beat slightly till the mix looks smooth, then stir in the fruit. Mix the flour and soda together in a separate bowl, then stir this through evenly. Pour into the tin and bake for approx 2 hours, using your own judgement and a cocktail stick. Leave to cool in the tin.
When cold, spoon the top liberally with your choice of alcohol, wrap well and leave for 3-4 days before icing or leave for a day and eat it as it is. Alternatively, you could feed it alcohol for a few weeks leading up to Christmas and then cover with marzipan and icing.
The cherries go all chewy and yummy.
Serve with a nice hot cup of tea. Perfect 🙂
Oh yum. I adore a good, rich fruit cake. Glace cherries are my favourite 😀
Me too, especially with tea. I like to get the natural ones, they taste exactly the same and seem much more real. 🙂
Great pictures! x
Yummy. I love these kinds of cakes:)
i dont normally like fruit cake, but this one doesn’t soudnd half bad! 🙂
Very festive for the holidays!
Wow there is some big pieces of cherries in that fruitcake. Wow again!
ha ha, its the best way, they go all chewy and lovely 🙂
A cup of tea and a slice of fruitcake are my favorite holiday treat. This recipe sounds so good!
Wow, this looks great. I’ll have to remember it for next Christmas.