Nothing says Christmas like a dense, plump fruit cake loaded with nuts, fruits, spices and cheeky splash of sherry.
Best-ever Christmas fruit cake recipe
Let that dried fruit soak up all the butter and sherry flavours. Yum!
- 25 mins preparation
- 2 hrs 5 mins cooking
- Serves 10
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Ingredients
- 1 kilogram mixed dried fruit, chopped coarsely
- 250 gram butter, chopped coarsely
- 1 1/4 cup (275g) firmly packed brown sugar
- 1 cup (250ml) sherry (or 50ml brandy essence combined with 200ml water)
- 1/4 cup (60ml) water
- 2 teaspoon finely grated orange rind (or 1 teaspoon orange essence)
- 4 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 1/2 cup (225g) plain flour
- 1/2 cup (75g) self-raising flour
- 2 teaspoon mixed spice
- 1/2 cup (60g) pecans
- 3/4 cup (105g) macadamias
Method
- 1Line a deep 22cm round cake pan with three layers of baking paper, extending paper 5cm above side.
- 2Combine fruit, butter, sugar, 3/4 cup of the sherry (or the brandy essence mixture) and the water in a large saucepan; stir over medium heat until butter is melted and sugar dissolved. Bring to the boil, remove from heat; transfer to a large bowl; cool.
- 3Preheat oven to 150°C (130°C fan-forced).
- 4Stir rind (or orange essence) and eggs into the fruit mixture, then the sifted dry ingredients. Spread the mixture into the pan and top with nuts.
- 5Bake cake for about 3 hours. Brush hot cake with remaining sherry; cover with foil; cool in pan overnight.