Grandma’s Fruitcake by Alex Hollywood
It's the cake I most like to have, sitting with Mum in her pretty garden with a cup of tea - happy days. Here's Grandma's fruitcake recipe!
Ingredients
- Butter for greasing
- 300g sultanas
- 250ml orange juice
- 1 tbsp brandy
- 1 tbsp honey
- 140g soft margarine
- 80g caster sugar
- 50g demerara sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 225g self-raising flour
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp ground mixed spice
- 5 tbsp milk
- zest of 1 orange
Method
Step 1
Pre-heat the oven to 150C / Gas mark 2. Butter an 18cm loose-bottomed cake tin and line it with baking parchment. Put the sultanas in a large bowl with the orange juice, brandy and honey and set aside to soak for as long as you can.
Step 2
Put the margarine and both sugars into another bowl and whisk until pale and creamy. Beat in the eggs one at a time with a spoonful of flour. Using a spoon, mix in the rest of the flour, spices, milk and orange zest.
Step 3
Drain the sultanas and fold them into the cake batter. Pour into the prepared tin and bake for about 2 hours.
The time depends on your oven, so make sure you don’t overcook the cake – it is ready when a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
Step 4
Put the kettle on and cut a slice of grandmas fruit cake!
My Busy Kitchen by Alex Hollywood (published by Hodder & Stoughton). Photos ©Dan Jones
