Method
Step 1:
Grease and line a deep cake tin with non-stick baking paper or use a non-stick 10" cake tin.
Step 2:
Wash the fruits and drain through a sieve. Tip into a bowl, and pour the brandy over the mixture. Leave to steep for up to 6 hours.
Step 3:
Preheat the oven to 140°C (120°C fan, gas mark 1). Ensure all the ingredients are at room temperature.
Step 4:
Melt the butter and sugar together in a saucepan, stirring until well mixed, then pour into a mixing bowl.
Step 5:
Add the treacle and mix well, then add the eggs and mix again.
Step 6:
Sift in the flour, baking powder and spices and fold in well, then stir in the steeped fruit and remaining liquid, the glacé ginger and vanilla extract.
Step 7:
Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and bake until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Leave the cake to cool in the tin and turn out when cold.
Step 8:
To store wrap in a double layer of greaseproof paper and a layer of foil. Store at room temperature to mature for up to 6 weeks prior to the event. Once covered in marzipan and icing, this cake will keep for a further 6 months at room temperature. Alternatively, store in the freezer wrapped in a double layer of greaseproof paper and double layer of foil pretty much indefinitely.
Ingredients
For the cake
- 250g Butter (unsalted)
- 360g Glacé cherries (halved)
- 480g Sultanas
- 450g Raisins
- 550g Currants
- 225ml Brandy
- 260g Billington's unrefined dark muscovado
- 1 tbsp Black treacle
- 5 Egg(s) (free range) (large, lightly beaten)
- 240g Allinson's Plain White Flour
- 1 tsp Baking powder
- 1 tsp Cinnamon (ground)
- 1 tsp Nutmeg (ground)
- 1 tsp Cloves (ground)
- 1 tsp Mixed spice
- 40g Glacé ginger
- 1 tsp Nielsen-Massey Vanilla Extract
Utensils
- 10in round cake tin
Nutritional Information
per 118g- 423cal Energy
- 10g Fat
- 5.8g of which Saturates
- 72g Carbohydrates
- 65g of which Sugars
- 4.1g Protein
- 0.16g Salt
Recipe Reviews
Really easy instructions to follow and very quick to prepare. Cake turned out really well and tasted great!
I am not really a fruitcake lover but this cake truely is the best I have ever tasted. It is so delicious, I have made it for the last 3 Christmas's. It is easy to make, full of fruit and lovely and moist. Just perfect!!
The recipe looks amazing. I would love to make this cake but can someone please explain why we need to wash the fruits first? Can I skip this step and just warm the fruits with the butter, brandy and sugar, like a boiled fruit cake method?
I have finished making this cake ready for Christmas, it smells delicious. However i agree with one of the previous comments about the amount of fruit still on top of the cake, it has made it quite bumpy and as im marzipan/icing i am a little worried it will affect the finished result. Also the baking time was a lot longer than 2.5 hours, in my 10" tin, gas oven took 4.75 hours.
I wanted to make this as a smaller cake in a loaf tin, would it be ok to simply half all of the recipe ingredients? Also could I use maple syrup instead of the black treacle?
We would always recommend following the recipe ingredients exactly to achieve the best outcome for your bake. By halving ingredients and baking in different tin sizes, the bake time will differ and the consistency of your cake may change. You can switch the treacle for maple syrup, however it is worth noting that the consistency of the treacle is thicker than maple syrup so may make your mixture a little looser.
I did the cake as instructed, but some of the fruit stayed on top of the cake as though they were not enough cake mix for it to absorb in , not tasted it yet as just come out of the oven
Ingredients
For the cake
- 250g Butter (unsalted)
- 360g Glacé cherries (halved)
- 480g Sultanas
- 450g Raisins
- 550g Currants
- 225ml Brandy
- 260g Billington's unrefined dark muscovado
- 1 tbsp Black treacle
- 5 Egg(s) (free range) (large, lightly beaten)
- 240g Allinson's Plain White Flour
- 1 tsp Baking powder
- 1 tsp Cinnamon (ground)
- 1 tsp Nutmeg (ground)
- 1 tsp Cloves (ground)
- 1 tsp Mixed spice
- 40g Glacé ginger
- 1 tsp Nielsen-Massey Vanilla Extract
Utensils
- 10in round cake tin
Nutritional Information
per 118g- 423cal Energy
- 10g Fat
- 5.8g of which Saturates
- 72g Carbohydrates
- 65g of which Sugars
- 4.1g Protein
- 0.16g Salt