CHRISTMAS CAKE

10 oz currants
6 oz sultanas

3 oz raisins

3 oz dark natural glace cherries

3oz mixed chopped peel - Cut your own or use ready cut

Grated rind of 1 lemon

Grated rind of 1 orange

2 tablespoons of whisky, brandy, rum or sherry

4 eggs - room temperature

6 oz butter - room temperature

6 oz soft brown sugar (or caster sugar if you have none)

3 ½ oz of self raising flour (use all plain if you have no SR flour, this cake is not intended to rise, but be level.)

3 ½ oz of plain flour

2 oz ground almonds

1½ teaspoons of mixed spice (this should contain cloves, cinnamon etc)

1 tablespoon golden syrup or corn syrup

Optional 2oz walnuts or blanched almonds chopped.

Optional 2 oz chopped dried apricots

PROCEDURE

1. Before you mix up the cake, SOAK the dried fruit and the halved cherries in the alcohol for about 4-8 hours before using it and also remove your 6oz butter and 4 eggs from the fridge to bring them to room temperature about 2 hours before cake making begins.  Sometimes I just put all the fruit in a screw top jar and shake it every day for about a week or two. The soaking helps plump and hydrate the fruit.
2. Heat oven to 140 degrees Celsius or Gas mark 1 or 275 degrees Fahrenheit
3. Butter your tin type and double line it and butter it again with 2 circles of greaseproof paper and an inner band of paper.
4. Outside the tin add a double band of brown paper that rises 2 inches or so above the tin. Tie with string.
5. Place the tin ready on a flat pizza or other baking sheet – this helps in removing it from the oven.