Well, last year I didn't even bother making a cake which felt wrong. The problem is the three kids don't eat Xmas cake so it's only me and himself. Anyway, I decided to make a small cake this year, so here it is. (It's my teabrack with a bit of zhuzsh.) I should mention we are not icing and/or marzipan fans here but both are easily procured or made. We cut the cake today and it's boozy and yum. Happy Advent!
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| Soaked fruit |
 |
| With the egg and marg mixed through |
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| Teeny brandy :) |
INGREDIENTS
150ml tea
50ml brandy (plus more for dousing later)
grated rind of one orange
200g dried fruit (candied fruit, glace cherries, sultanas, raisins)
100g stoned dates, sliced in half
100g brown sugar
1 beaten
egg
50g melted marg
255g wholegrain spelt flour
1 tsp bread soda
1 tsp mixed spice
flaked almonds to top (optional)
METHOD
- Soak the fruit, rind, sugar, brandy and tea
in a bowl - leave overnight or for at least 4 hours
- Preheat the oven to 180C
- Grease and line a 2lb loaf tin
(ready-made liners are great and very little greasing needed!)
- Add melted
marg to the fruit mix. Stir through.
- Add beaten egg. Stir through.
- Sieve in the flour, bread soda
and spice
- Place mixture into the lined tin and flatten out the top
- Sprinkle with a handful of flaked almonds (if using)
- Bake for one hour, until a
skewer comes out clean
- Cool in the tin for 10 mins
then turn onto a wire rack.
- Once cool, make holes with a skewer and pour on a few tsps of brandy
- Wrap in greaseproof paper, then tinfoil and store in an airtight tin.
- Douse with a few tsps of brandy, bottom and top of cake alternately, at one week intervals, until you want to eat it.
