Fruit and nut cake

It's nearly Christmas, and at this time of the year I love a nice fruit and nut cake, but I hate the shop bought ones full of cheap glacé fruits - which have loads of sugar and nasty colours. Dry fruits are beautifully sweet already so do not need the extra sugar. I also buy organic and preservative free dry fruits which limits my options but most supermarkets have currants, sultanas, prunes, figs etc . available.  For my mix I have used currants, sultanas, dates, figs, prunes and cranberries. Sometimes,  I also add dried cherries (if I am lucky enough to find them). For the nut mixture, I have almonds, pecans, walnuts and hazelnuts. You can also add pistachios or macadamias. This cake is alcohol free as I want it to be toddler friendly, but you can soak the dried fruit in a few tablespoons of brandy and either leave overnight to reconstitute or for a minimum of 20 minutes. Sometimes, I also use orange juice instead of the brandy but in this instance have eliminated that step.

You will need
2 cups plain flour
1 and 1/4 cup dried fruit
1 and 1/4 cup chopped nuts
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup cream
1/2 cup milk
3 eggs
1 teaspoon ground ginger powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 heaped teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda

Glaze (optional)
4 tablespoons of fig jam
2 tablespoons glucose
1 tablespoon of water
Handful of nuts for decoration

Method

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and ginger into a large mixing bowl. Add the sugar and mix well. Now add the chopped nuts and chopped dry fruits.  In a separate bowl, beat the eggs before adding the cream, milk and vanilla extract. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, mix and pour the cake mix into a lined springform tin. Bake in a preheated 170°c fan forced oven for 50-60 minutes.

Once the cake is cooled, I make the glaze by heating fig jam, glucose and water on a low heat.  You can also use pear, apricot or peach jam, just by itself thinned down with a little water. Brush the warm glaze on to the cooled cake making sure the entire cake including the sides are covered. Decorate with the reserved nuts, the glaze helps the nuts adhere to the cake and I also brush some of the glaze on to the nuts to give them a beautiful sheen.

The cake keeps very well, that is if it is not devoured by your family and friends.

Happy holidays!!!