Top tip: coat fruits in flour right before adding them to the batter as this stops them from sinking to the bottom of your pan but stay suspended all over the cake.
Ingredients
Makes an 8 inch cake
Flour- 200g
Dark brown sugar- 150g
Butter- 200g
Currants- 250g
Raisins- 250g
Glace cherries- 100g
Candied mixed peel- 50g
Lemon zest- 1tsp
Orange zest- 1 lemon
Ground almonds- 75g
Flaked / slivered almonds- 75g
Eggs- 4
Buttermilk 1/2 cup
All spice- 2 tsp
Cinnamon- ¾ tsp
Nutmeg- ½ tsp
Baking powder 1 tsp
Baking soda 1/2 tsp
Salt- ½ tsp
Black treacle- 1 tbsp
Brandy 1/2 cup for soaking and 1/2 cup for feeding the baked cake
Make sure to soak dried fruits in either brandy or any natural fruit juice of choice for about 24 hours
Pre-heat the oven to 150 degrees Celsius (250 degrees Fahrenheit).
Whisk the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, add treacle and whip till fully combined, add in the eggs one at a time, mix till incorporated.
in separate bowl, sieve the flour, add the salt, leavening agents and spices and then mix thoroughly, pour in the almonds and incorporate. Add the dry to wet ingredients folding in carefully. Finally, add in all your fruits along with the lemon/orange zest (top tip- soak your dried and candied fruits in ½ a cup of brandy/ orange juice/ apple juice a day before you need them).
The cake should take about 2 - 2 1/2 hours to bake
Once cooled, use skewer to poke holes on both the top and bottom of the cake and feed it brandy/juice using a spoon.
Store cake in an airtight container/tin and place in a cool dry place, this should keep for about 2 - 3 weeks
enjoy!