Cake Recipes: Fruit 60 by Recipe Cottage

SEARCH RECIPES:

LOCATION: Recipes >> Cake Recipes >> Fruit 60


	Fruit 60

		Light Fruit Cake 8 oz yellow sultanas 8 oz glace cherries 4 oz crystallised pineapple 2 oz crystallised ginger 6 oz candied peel 2 oz angelica 4 oz walnuts 8 oz butter 8 oz castor sugar 8 oz plain flour 1 lemon; grated rind and juice 4 eggs 1/2 teaspoon salt 3-4 tablespoons brandy Prepare an 8-inch cake tin - one with a loose base is best. Butter it and line it with two thicknesses of grease-proof paper brushed with melted butter. Tie a band of brown paper that sticks up an inch or so above the rim round the outside of the tin for extra protection. Soak the sultanas in the brandy for several hours before mixing the cake. Sift the flour with the salt. Quarter the glace cherries, chop the pineapple, ginger, angelica, nuts and candied peel - it really is worth while to use the citron peel that you buy in large pieces clotted with sugar for this cake and to chop it rather finely yourself - you'll need a very sharp knife. Beat the eggs really hard till they're foamy and thick and have increased in volume - this may take you 10 or 15 minutes, but it's worth it to get a good textured cake. Cream the butter with the lemon rind, and cream in the sugar well till fluffy and soft. Add the beaten eggs, a little bit at a time, beating well after each addition. (If the mixture shows any sign of curdling, quickly beat in a little of the flour.) Stir in the flour very lightly, and the lemon juice. Stir in the prepared fruit, a little at a time, and then the brandy. If necessary add a little more but don't make the mixture too damp - it should be just moist enough to drop from the spoon if you give it a good shake. Turn it into the prepared tin, smooth it over the top and make a deep hollow in the centre, sloping from the middle to the edge all the way round so that the cake rises evenly. Put the cake in an oven preheated to 150C., on the shelf below centre. After an hour and a half reduce the temperature to 100C. Bake for about 2 1/2 hours longer. (After the cake has been in the oven for at least 2 1/2 hours you can look and see if the top is browning too much. If so, cover it with a double thickness of greaseproof paper.) The cake is done when it is evenly risen and brown, has shrunk from the sides of the tin, and when it has stopped 'singing'. Leave in the tin to cool, away from draughts, for at least an hour, before taking it out and leaving it to get quite cold before storing. Store in as large a tin as possible.