Maggie Beer's Christmas Cake

Total Time: 4 hrs Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 3 hrs 30 mins

Ingredients

• 500 g sultanas
• 300 g currants
• 175 g seedless raisins
• 1/4 cup good-quality bitter marmalade
• 150 g mixed peel
• 2 grated oranges, zest of
• 120 ml brandy
• 300 g unbleached plain flour
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground mixed spice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 220 g softened unsalted butter
• 200 g soft light brown sugar
• 4 large free-range eggs
• 100 g blanched almonds

Recipe

• 1 mix the dried fruit and orange zest together in a glass or china bowl.
• 2 pour the brandy over and mix again.
• 3 cover the bowl and leave for at least 24 hours, turning mixture occasionally.
• 4 preheat oven to 140 degrees c.
• 5 grease and line a 24cm round cake tin with several layers of paper.
• 6 paper should extend 10cm above the rim of the tin.
• 7 sift flour, spices and salt.
• 8 cream butter and sugar in a large bowl.
• 9 beat eggs in a separate bowl then mix very gradually into the creamed mixture.
• 10 gently fold in the spiced flour, then fold in the dried fruit mixture.
• 11 pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
• 12 decorate the top with blanched almonds.
• 13 bake for about 3 hours.
• 14 a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake should come out clean when the cake is cooked.
• 15 a baking dish full of water placed on the oven shelf below the cake during cooking will help keep the cake moist.
• 16 cool the cake in the tin for 30 minutes before transfering to a wire rack.
• 17 to store, wrap the cake in several layers of greaseproof paper, then wrap in foil and store in an air-tight tin.