FRUIT CAKE

  
    
Cooking: Oven 70 minutes (170°C / 340°F)
Yield: Makes 1 x cake (20cm x 6cm)
                                         
Make delicious fruit cake any time using jars of homemade fruit mince and some basic pantry ingredients. Serve at Christmas, warm or cold with ice-cream or custard - or decorate with white icing and Christmas decorations for a lovely homemade gift!
             
INGREDIENTS:
4 cups fruit mince
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
3/4 cup castor (superfine) sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups plain flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
brandy (for storage)
                
METHOD:

1. Pre-heat oven: 170°C fan-forced.
2. Grease and line a 20cm x 6cm round spring-form tin.
3. Combine fruit mince, eggs, milk, sugar and vanilla in a bowl.
4. Sift flour and baking powder into the bowl of ingredients. Stir until combined.
5. Pour fruit cake mix into lined tin, allowing 1cm (1/2inch) distance between the mix and the rim of the tin. Cover tin (not on the cake mix) with a layer of baking paper and foil. This allows room for the cake to rise as it cooks.
6. Bake cake in pre-heated oven for 70 minutes, or until cooked.
7. Remove cake from oven and remove baking paper and foil. Cool 5 minutes in the tin before cooling on a wire rack.
8. Brush generously with brandy over all of the cake before wrapping in baking paper, foil and plastic and storing at room temperature until cake is cut. The wrapped fruit cake will keep for several months at room temperature, or can be refrigerated (or frozen). Once fruit cake has been cut, store in the refrigerator and keep wrapped tightly to prevent it from drying out.

         

SERVING IDEAS

• Serve warm with a scoop of ice-cream or custard.
• Cover with warm apricot jam, white icing and decorate with ribbon and non-metallic flowers or Christmas decorations. Once covered with icing, store at room temperature to prevent the icing from becoming too firm.
• Cut up fruit cake and use instead of sponge in a trifle.
• Fruit cake truffles or cake pops.
• Making several fruit cakes at once means you can create extra special birthday cakes any time during the year!   

   

Learn how to make more delicious homemade gifts for Christmas with our Christmas Preserving Guide AVAILABLE HERE

        

I made our wedding cake using homemade fruit

cake, white icing and decorations.

December 6, 2013.