Boiled Fruit Cake

 

We all love a piece of Fruit Cake and sometimes the thought of making it can put you off especially the 'creaming the butter & sugar together'.
This has to be one of my easiest to make yet, and to be honest I get a good result each time with this recipe.

Ingredients:

900g ( 2lb ) dried mixed fruit

250ml (8 fl oz) water

225g ( 8oz ) caster sugar

170g ( 6oz ) butter

230g ( 8oz ) plain flour

2 medium eggs (beaten)

1 tsp bicarbonate of soad

1 tsp of mixed spice

1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional)

Preparation & method:

Preheat oven to 150 C / Gas 2

Grease cake 8inch** cake tin and line with greaseproof paper.

Combine he water, dried fruit, butter and sugar  in large saucepan over medium heat.

                       

 Bring to the boil stirring occasionally, then simmer gently for 10 minutes.

When this is done leave to cool approximately 6/10minutes**

Sift flour, bicarbonate of soda and spices into a large mixing bowl and blend in.

Pour in the cooled cake mixture, and stir well until blended making sure there are no pockets of flour at the bottom.

Mix in the eggs.

 

At this stage the mixture will look sloppy and pale, that is normal.

                                                        

Pour into lined cake tin.

Bake for approximately 90 minutes in pre-heated oven.

Test after 80 minutes with a skewer inserted into the top of the cake, it should come out clean.

Cool cake in tin for at least 10 minutes before removing and placing on wire rack to continue cooling.

 Tips***

I use a 9inch cake tin, sometimes a deeper 7 inch both work perfectly well.

If you don't let your cake cool enough before adding to flour mixture, it could cause lumps.

Last Christmas I used this recipe but instead of all mixed fruit I added chopped cherries, mixed peal and some chopped walnuts.

Just make sure when adding other ingredients, you take out the equivalent in dried fruit and it still comes to 2lb's.

Happy cooking.

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