Boiled fruit cake
- Prepare
- less than 30 mins
- Cook
- 1 to 2 hours
- Serve
- Serves 8
- Dietary
- Dairy-freeVegetarian
This sticky cake is quick and easy to make, deliciously textured and will keep well if stored in an airtight container. Briefly boiling the dried fruit makes it plump and moist without having to soak it overnight (as you do with many traditional fruit cakes).
Ingredients
- 120g/4¼oz margarine, plus extra to grease
- 300g/10½oz dried mixed fruit, raisins, sultanas, chopped nuts and walnuts
- 120g/4¼oz sugar (any caster sugar, granulated sugar, or light brown soft sugar)
- ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 6 tbsp brandy
- 80g/2¾oz plain flour
- 80g/2¾oz self-raising flour
- 1 large free-range eggs, beaten
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp mixed spice
- 100g/3½oz glacé cherries, chopped
Method
Preheat the oven to 150C/130C Fan/Gas 3. Grease and line a 900g/2lb loaf tin.
Put the margarine, mixed fruit and nuts, sugar, bicarbonate of soda and brandy in a large pan along with 6 tablespoons of cold water. Bring to the boil, then take the pan off the heat and set aside to cool.
When the mixture has cooled, add the plain flour, self-raising flour, egg, baking powder, mixed spice and glacé cherries and mix well.
Pour into the loaf tin and bake for 1 hour 15 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Recipe tips
If you are making this as a dairy-free recipe, check the margarine before using. Some brands will not be dairy free, but many are.
This recipe can easily be doubled if you want to make one cake for now and one for later.
If you're not keen on brandy, try rum, sherry or whiskey instead.
