A Lovely Fruit Cake Recipe

Over the years many visitors have requested a fruit cake recipe. The truth was I had not made one before until I tried this recipe by Elaine McGregor. It's a keeper. 

Watch The Fruit Cake Recipe Video

All of the steps are in the video for you. From soaking the fruit and the baked cake to aging for 3 months. That's a long time to wait to enjoy this wonderful cake.  But it's worth the wait. 

Full Written Recipe

This makes enough for a 10 inch round or square pan

Preheat the oven to 425 F ( if convection drop the temperature by 25 degrees F) Reduce the heat to 275 right before placing the cake in the oven. 

Ingredients

• 1 1/3 cup each of golden raisins, dark raisins, currants
• 2/3 cup or 4 oz halved candied cherries
• 1/3 cup or 2 oz un-blanched coarse almonds
• 1/3 cup or 2 oz mixed candied peel (optional)
• 1/2 cup Sherry, Brandy, a mix of the two or Orange juice to soak the fruit overnight
  

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup self rising flour
• 1 tsp mixed spices
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup or 2 oz ground almonds
• 1 cup or 8 oz butter (room temperature)
• 1 1/3 cup or 8 oz firmly packed brown sugar
•  4 eggs

Method

Put all of the fruit and nuts in a bowl to soak overnight. Blend all of the dry ingredients together in a bowl and set aside. Cream the butter and sugar together. Lightly beat in 4 eggs

Alternately mix in the fruit and the dry ingredients small amounts at a time until fully incorporated into the creamed mixture.

Fill your pan leaving a space of about 3/4 inches from the top. Reduce the heat to 275 and bake for 3 hours (for a 10 inch round)

Pan Prep: Use either a spray oil or Crisco to grease the pans well, followed by a dusting of flour, followed by a layer of parchment paper or waxed paper that has been cut to fit the pan. That's it. No need to re-grease and flour the waxed paper as some cookbooks will ask you to do.

An Alternative Fruit Cake Recipe From Roshan

By Roshan Bartlett

This fruit cake recipe is from from "The Complete Book Of Cake Decorating" with some of Roshans's own tweaks. This is in grams.

Round Tin 18 cm

• All purpose flour 175 g
• Mixed Spices (Pumpkin Spices) 1/2 tsp
• Cinnamon, Ground     1/4 tsp
• Nutmeg, Ground     1/4 tsp
• Salt     1/2 tsp
• Glace Cherries     75g
• Currants     200g    
• Sultanas     175g
• Raisins     175g
• Cut Mixed Peel     50g
• Butter     150g
• Sugar**     150g
• Eggs, medium     3
• Almond Extract     1/2 tsp
• Black Treacle     1 1/4 tsp
• Orange, Grated Rind     Half
• Lemon, Grated Rind     Half   

Cooking time 2-2 1/2 hours. Oven Temperature: 150oC / Gas 2, reducing to 140oC / Gas 1 halfway through cooking for the larger

Cakes ( 10 inches and above)

Note : **For sugar: castor, soft brown granulated or light brown may be used. 

Method for the Fruit Cake Recipe

Set the oven at the selected temperature on the chart. Grease and line the appropriate cake pan with  double thickness of either brown paper or parchment. Sift the flour, spices and salt together and set aside.

Chop up the glace cherries and mix with the dried fruits. Throw in about 2 tablespoons of brandy (or other liquor of  preferred taste)  to plump up the fruit. (fruit can be left to soak for three days if you want or just a couple of hours)

Cream the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add the eggs into the mixture one at a time. If the mixture begins to curdle add a tablespoonful of flour and beat until smooth again. Repeat this until all the flour is used up.

Fold in any remaining flour along with the soaked fruit less the soaking liquor.

Transfer mixture into the prepared pan, level off and make a deep dip in the middle to ensure even cooking. For the larger cakes wrap pans with double thickness brown paper and secure with string.

Bake for the suggested time but check the cake 15-30 minutes before the end of  cooking time. Bake until a skewer inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. If the cake starts to brown too quickly cover with a round of brown paper or parchment.  Pour the remaining  liquor over the cake when cool. Fruit cakes can be fed with liquor at regular intervals to help maturity. Best fruit cakes are left to mature tightly wrapped up in parchment then in foil and placed in an airtight cake tin for at least three months. Please don't wrap fruit cakes directly in foil as the fruit and aluminum react.    

To learn more about fruit cake recipes all around the world check out Wikipedia

History of Fruit Cake