I really love this cake, it was born out of necessity ( I have a nut & dairy allergy) but with a lot of experimentation I settled on a good dense, sweet and spicy cake that smells heavenly without being too filling or dry. Dry fruit cake is the pits. It's great iced or plain. Alas the alcohol content is very high so it is not suitable for every one. However an alcohol free version can be easily made a few days before Christmas- just soak the fruit in cold black tea or fruit juice (orange or cranberry juice would be lovely. )
Christmas cake can seem super daunting, baking something so far in advance spoilage can be a worry but that's the important role the alcahol plays preserving the cake and allowing the flavours to deepen and develop.
What you'll need:
- 200g glacé cherries, chopped (I like French style best, if dayglo red and green are you're thing I won't judge you too much)
- 200g candied peel (often referred to as mixed peel)
- 1kg sultans, raisins or currants (a mix or just the fruit you like best, i usually just use raisins because I like them best and we tend to have them in the pantry anyway.)
- 1 litre bottle of dark rum (this will serve you from start to finish and leave you some to spare, supermarket own brand is fine)
- 30ml/1 table spoon of vanilla extract (never essence if you can help it)
- 250g very dark brown sugar
- 250g butter (I use a dairy free margarine, as long as its okay for baking it'll work in the cake)
- 6 medium eggs
- 400g plain flour
- 1/4 of a teaspoon of salt
- 1 teaspoon of baking powder
- 100g ground rice or ground almonds
- 1 teaspoon of nutmeg
- 3 teaspoons of cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons of mixed spice
- 1 teaspoon of ginger
