Celebration Cake

Celebration Cake

A cracking fruit cake that you can use for any celebration, and it would be perfect for Christmas. Wrapped in foil in a cool, dark place the cake will keep for a month.

Serves 10 people

Equipment
Large bowl, wooden spoon, scales, deep 22cm cake tin, baking paper

Ingredients

  • 170g soft unsalted butter, plus extra for lining the tin
  • 170g light brown sugar
  • 3 eggs, beaten
  • 225g self raising flour
  • 1tsp mixed spice
  • 680g mixed, dried fruit soaked in 100ml alcohol, orange juice or strong black tea overnight or longer if you’ve got time.
  • A small handful of glace cherries or nuts to decorate

Method

Heat the oven to 160°C

  1.  Cut out a circle of baking paper to fit the bottom of your tin. Smear soft butter all round the inside of the tin then fit the circle of baking paper in the bottom to stop the cake sticking (here’s a quick video guide, you don’t have to line the sides if you don’t want to)
  2. Mix the butter and sugar until fluffy and light in colour
  3. Add the eggs one at a time (mixing in between), then slowly add all the other ingredients and stir gently
  4. Pour into the lined tin, stud the top with the glace cherries or nuts and bake in the oven for 1 hour 40 minutes or until a skewer  pushed into the cake comes out clean.
  5. Cool in the tin for 15 minutes, then turn out on to a wire rack to cool completely.

You could ice the cake with marzipan and royal icing. Instead of decorating, spread over a thin layer of warm jam and then place over the rolled out marzipan. Leave this to dry then spread on more jam and then the rolled icing.

Back to Readers Recipes button