My Classic Christmas Cake

This recipe requires you to start two days prior to baking. My classic Christmas Cake is beautifully fruity and moist when the time comes to eat it.

Ingredients:

225g Currants

225g Sultanas

225g Raisins

110g Cranberries

175g Glace Cherries (halved)

175g Apricots (quartered)

80g Mixed Candied Peel

5 tbsp Rum, plus extra for feeding

275g Plain Flour (sifted)

1 tsp Ground Fresh Nutmeg

1 tsp Mixed Spice

250g Stork with Butter

250g Dark Muscavado Sugar

4 Large Free Range Organic Eggs

70g Whole Almonds (chopped with skins left on)

1 tbsp Black Treacle

1 Lemon (grated zest only)

2 Large Orange (grated zest only)

Method:

1. Place the currants, sultanas, raisins, cherries, mixed peel, cranberries and apricots into a large bowl. Stir in the rum, mix, cover and leave at room temperature for two days, stirring occasionally.

2. Lightly grease a 23cm /9" deep round cake tin. Cut a strip of brown paper to fit around the outside of the tin, twice. Then secure with string. Place a circle of parchment paper on the inside bottom of the tin.

3. Pre - heat the oven to 140c / 275f Gas Mark 1

4. Now place the sifted plain flour, nutmeg, mixed spice, butter, sugar, treacle, eggs and citrus zests into a large mixing bowl and beat well. Gently fold in the soaked fruits.

5. Spoon the mixture into the prepared cake tin and spread out evenly with a pallet knife. Cover the top of the cake loosely with a double layer of parchment paper. Bake in the pre-heated oven for about 4-4 1/4 hour, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool in the tin.

6. When the cake is cool, pierce the cake all over with a fine skewer and give the cake it's first "feed" with spoonfuls of rum. You should then feed the cake with rum every 1-2 weeks leading up to Christmas. Wrap the cake with a double layer of parchment and a double layer of tin foil and store in a sealed tight cake tin.