Super Easy Fruit Cake

Today we are going to be making another one of my favourite super moist Fruit Cake recipes, and this one is a crowd-pleaser! This Fruit Cake does not require soaking the fruits or making caramel! It has a rich deep colour and is absolutely delicious so you will love this quick and easy recipe.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup (170 grams) Unsalted Butter   

• 1 cup (210 grams) Dark Brown Sugar, packed

• 3 cups (500 grams) Mixed Dried Fruit

  • 100 grams Prunes

  • 100 grams Black Currants, seedless

  • 100 grams Dried Apricots

  • 50 grams Sultanas

  • 50 grams Dried Cranberries

  • 50 grams Dates

  • 50 grams Candied Ginger

• 1 cup (200 grams) Glacé Cherries, coarsely chopped

• ¼ cup (30 grams) Walnuts, coarsely chopped  

• ¼ cup (20 grams) Almonds, coarsely chopped

• 2 Oranges, zest and juice (⅓ cup)

• 1 Lemon, zest 

• 1/2 cup (120 ml) Cherry Brandy

• 1½ cups (200 grams) All-purpose Flour

• ½ tsp Baking Powder

• ½ tsp Salt

• 1  tsp Ground Cinnamon

• ¾ tsp Nutmeg, freshly grated

• ½  tsp Cloves, freshly ground

• 3  Eggs, large, room temperature

• 1 tbsp Pure Vanilla Extract

  
  

Method

1. Line an 8” cake pan with parchment paper.

2. Add the butter, dark brown sugar, chopped dried fruits, zest and juice of the oranges, lemon zest, and cherry brandy to a heavy bottom pot.  Place it over medium heat and bring to a gentle boil.  Cook for ten minutes stirring occasionally after it comes to a gentle boil.

3. Transfer it to a bowl and leave it aside to cool.

4. Preheat the oven to 300F/150C.

5. Add the all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, freshly grated nutmeg, and freshly ground cloves to another bowl.  Whisk them together before adding the coarsely chopped nuts and mixing till the nuts get well coated with the flour.

6. Beat the eggs and vanilla in another bowl before adding them to the cooled dried fruits mixture. Mix till well blended.

7. Now mix the dry ingredients with the wet in two additions using the cut-and-fold method.  

8. Pour the cake batter into the prepared cake pan.  Using the back of a spatula flatten out the top of the cake.

9. Place the cake into the preheated oven and bake for 45 minutes.  Now, lower the oven temperature to 275F/140C and bake for an additional hour or an hour and fifteen minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. I baked mine for an hour and fifteen minutes. 

10. Allow the cake to cool completely before taking it out of the cake pan.

11. Now use a skewer and make 10-12 holes in the cake before pouring cherry brandy over the cake. Once the cake has absorbed the brandy and cooled, cover it with a plastic wrap, and put it in an airtight container.  Once a week, open it up and pour a couple of tablespoons more of the cherry brandy on it.  Repeat the process right up to Christmas.