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Tropical Fruit Cake
There is something about having Fruit Cake with a cup of tea in the afternoon that makes it seem like more of an event. Fruit cake is easy to make, although it does take time to cook. Once baked it will keep for ages in a tin, if you have the will power to resist. Packed full of fruit it must be good for you, or at least that is my excuse. It is the perfect centre piece for tea with the family and an excuse to sit down at the table and linger over a cup of tea and chat.
I made a fruit cake for Easter, but as I wanted to use up some of my cupboard stores I decided to make a fruit cake with a slightly tropical twist. I added some dried apricot and some dessicated coconut in to the basic recipe. I have to say this actually worked really well, the apricot added a tropical taste to the fruit cake which worked well with the other fruit. It definitely made a change from a normal fruit cake.
When I bake a fruit cake I always wrap a layer of newspaper around the outside of the tin and tie it with string. This keeps the cake moist and prevent the outside from becoming too crispy during its time in the oven. It doesn’t need to be a thick layer but it is worth doing as it makes the cake much nicer. This works for any fruit cake, including Christmas cake.
Tropical Fruit Cake
A fruit cake with apricot and coconut to add a tropical taste
Ingredients
- 15 og butter
- 150 g dark brown sugar
- 3 eggs
- zest of 1 lemon
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 225 g plain flour
- 1 teaspoon mixed spice
- 400 g sultanas currants and raisins
- 50 g dried apricot
- 55 g mixed peel
- 55 g glacé cherries
- 50 g dessicated coconut
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 150C, 300F,Gas 2
- Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy
- Fold in the flour and baking powder and mix in the eggs.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and mix until the fruit is well distributed.
- Place in an 8 inch cake tin and flatten the mixture, adding a well in the centre so the top is level when cooked.
- Bake for 1 – 1½ hours until a skewer though the centre comes out clean.
The cake was well received and we enjoyed it with a cup of tea, hot cross buns and Easter eggs.
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