So get your notebooks ready, pens and pencils sharpened and filled and get ready for the bestest fruitcake recipe in the world.
So to begin you will need, big drum roll, the recipe:-
MRS ROBIN'S FRUIT CAKE
(from The Complete Farmhouse Kitchen Cookbook, Ed Mary Watts, 1988, Guild Publishing, London, UK).
125 grams/ 40z margarine ( or butter if u have no artery concerns)
175 g/6 oz of dark brow, light or white sugar ( I have used dark brown muscovado as it's for Xmas)
175 g/ 6oz currants
175g/6oz sultanas
50g/2oz chopped cherries/candied peel (if you like them, I substitute extra fruit normally)
225 ml/8 fluid oz water
1 level teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 heaped teaspoon of mixed spice.
To make this extra special I have also added in:-
the juice and cut halves of 1 lemon
1 cinnamon stick and
............half a bottle of rum/brandy mixed (only because my mum brought over a bottle oh I'll explain later).
So once you have ur ingredients for phase 1 together you will need to get yourself a large saucepan, a mixing spoon, and a hob/aga/electric cooker ring.
The next phase is the nice putting it together part:
Firstly measure out your water in a clean jug
The sugar and margarine/butter
The dried fruits including cherries chopped and candied peel
Next put all the dried fruit into the saucepan and add in your lemon juice and peel, spices and cinnaman stick and also your bicarbonate of soda.......
Next turn on the heat.......
Get your Whittards Easter bunny mixing spoon and put the pan on the heat and stir.......
Bring the mixture to the boil and simmer for 1 minute
There endeth lesson 1 and you can now put your feet up until tomorrow when the fruit will have absorbed all the yummy goodness and swell up ready for phase 2 - the flour, eggs and bakey part.
Looks yummy! Shame I have already made our cake for this year, but I will bookmark your page and have a go in the New Year - can't see why we can't have cake then too!
ReplyDeleteThat's a great post Jo .... I've never made Christmas cake before - might give it a go! Be carefull with some of those ingredients ;-)
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