Easy Fruit Cake Recipe

 

Ingredients:

180 g. plain flour (sifted)

60 g. ground almond

170 g. unsalted butter (room temperature)

1/3 cup powdered sugar

4 eggs (room temperature)

1 cup chopped red and green cherries, raisins and candied peel

2 tsp. vanilla essence

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder (sifted)

1/4 cup milk

1/4 tsp. salt

Methods:

1. Grease a 9x5x3 inch loaf pan, and dust it with flour.
2. Remove 1 tablespoon from the flour and sprinkle it over the dried fruits and mix.
3. Add the vanilla essence to the milk.  Set aside.
4. In a bowl, add sifted flour, baking powder and salt.  Then add the ground almond and stir well.  Set aside.
5. In a mixer bowl, beat butter with powdered sugar until light and fluffy.  Be sure to beat them well because this cake requires very little baking powder, so this stage is crucial in ensuring you have a light and fluffy cake.
6. Once the butter and sugar are light and creamy, add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally.
7. Add the flour and milk/vanilla in three parts, combining gently between each addition, starting with the flour, then milk and ending with the flour.  Make sure not to over-mix the batter at this stage.
8. Finally, add the cherries, raisins and candied peel. Gently stir them in with a spatula.  Pour this batter into your prepared loaf pan and smooth the top with the spatula.
9. Bake in a preheated oven of 170 degree Celsius for about 45 minutes or until the skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
10. During baking, if you find the top of the cake is coloring too quickly, you can cover the cake lightly with a piece of foil.
11. Place the loaf pan on a wire rack to cool and then turn the cake out of the pan and allow it to cool completely before slicing.  The loaf will keep well in an airtight container for up to 3 days, and longer if refrigerated.

This recipe is adapted from 'kitchencookbook.net' with a slight adjustment to suit my baking preference.