That'll teach me from promising to post something 'tomorrow' - I really should have learned by now that any time I say that something keeps me from the computer for the tomorrow in question. Sorry.
Anyway, the recipe I'm using comes from Nigella Lawson's 'How to be a Domestic Goddess' (which has to be the best title for a recipe book ever). I tried to find a link to it on her website, but there isn't one, so I'm hoping that by quoting the source I won't get into any trouble! It's paraphrased, so any grammatical mistakes are mine!!
Note you need to start this the day before you actually bake it...
For a half-pound (225g) cake:
700g / 1.5 pounds sultanas
225g / 8 ounces raisins
110g / 4 ounces currants
110g / 4 ounces glace cherries
110g / 4 ounces mixed peel
120ml / 4.5 fluid ounces brandy (or sherry, but I'm using brandy)
225g / 8 ounces butter
195g / 7 ounces brown sugar
1 teaspoon lemon zest, chopped/grated
1 teaspoon orange zest, chopped/grated
4 large eggs
2 tablespoons marmalade
350g / 12.5 ounces plain flour (which I think would be 'all purpose' in the States - no baking agent or other fancies)
1 teaspoon mixed spice
a quarter teaspoon cinnamon
a quarter teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon almond essence
a pinch of salt
For conversion of amounts to cups, etc. try
http://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking...surements.html
DAY BEFORE: put all fruit and brandy into a bowl, mix well, cover, and leave to soak overnight
NEXT DAY:
You'll need a 23cm/9" round tin (or a 20cm square one) which should be lined with a double thickness of brown paper (the sort you use for wrapping parcels) and then with one layer of baking parchment. The layers round the side of the tin should be approx 10 cm above the rim to avoid scorching the cake.
Heat oven to Gas Mark 2 / 150 degrees centigrade / 300 degrees farenheit
Cream together butter and sugar, add in both types of zest.
Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.
Add marmalade and mix in.
Sift all the rest of the dry ingredients (just the dry!) together in a bowl
Alternate adding some of the soaked fruit and some of the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture, stirring after each addition (this will get quite stiff as the ingredients get used up - that's normal!). Do this until all fruit and dry ingredients have been incorporated into the creamed mixture.
Add the almond essence, and mix well.
Stick mixture into the tin, and put in the oven for 3 - 3 and a half hours (or until a cake tester shows done)
When ready, brush the top with some more brandy (about a couple of tablespoons, not the bottle) and wrap immediately (while still hot) in tin foil to keep the top pliable.
When cold, re-wrap in fresh tin foil (be generous) and store in a cool dark place for a minimum of 3 weeks before eating.
End of Nigella recipe.
I would recommend 'feeding' the cake by spiking the unwrapped top with a cocktail stick or skewer several times and brushing on a further tablespoon or so of brandy every couple of weeks until you eat it. Once fed, re-wrap and return to hiding place.
When you are ready to start eating:
Traditionally the cake is decorated first with marzipan (almond paste?), which is rolled out to about a quarter inch thickness and then laid over the cake (which you brush with melted apricot jam (jelly) first to make it stick), smoothed over and trimmed.
Then royal icing (stiff icing, not sure what the American term would be - fondant? - the sort that we use for wedding cakes too) is rolled out and also put on the cake.
Plus decorations as your fancy takes you.
Enjoy!!
