Instructions

• For baking a fruit cake you will need –dry mix fruit(1 cups), raisins (1 ½ cups),chopped nuts(2 cups), plain flour(3 cups),brown sugar(2 cups), ground cinnamon(1 ½ tbsp), ground nutmeg(2 tbsp), ground cloves(2 tbsp), ground allspice(2 tbsp), eggs (4 nos), butter softened(1 ½ cups), baking soda(1 tbsp), vanilla extract( 2 tbsp),lemon zest( 2 tbsp) and brandy(1 cup).
• The nuts and fruits have to be soaked in the brandy. Cover it and leave for a night. Switch on your oven and preheat it to about 225 degree F. Fruitcake should always be baked at a low temperature. Sieve the flour .Mix the butter and sugar with an electric whisker or fork and do it until it is smooth and creamy.
• Add one egg into this butter and beat. In the next step add a quarter of flour and mix well. Repeat this until all the eggs and the flour have been used up. Fold in this mixture carefully and also make sure that there are no flour pockets left. Now add the vanilla extract.
• Add the ground nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves and allspices to this cake mixture. Take a spoon and gently stir it. After this add the baking soda. Take the dry fruits and nuts that have been soaked in the brandy, drain them. Now add them into the cake mixture. Add the lemon zest as well. Always stir it gently and keep stirring until all the fruits are mixed well.
• Take a pan and grease it and then sprinkle some flour. Shake off the extra flour. You can also use greased brown paper for the liners. Fruitcakes can be made in the disposable tins or muffin tins just remember that with the change of the size of pan cooking time changes as well. Now pour the cake mixture into the prepared cake tin. Level the surface gently.
• In order to stop the cake from drying out always place a pan of water on the oven rack or the oven floor. Place the cake tin over it. Bake it for about an hour. Put a knife into it and if it comes out clean then it is done. Otherwise bake it for a little more. But be careful not to over bake it.
• You can pour some liquor of your choice on the hot cake to enrich the flavor. But it is optional. The cake has to be cooled in the pan completely before unmolding it. Unmold it when it is cold. Now if you can resist yourself and want to store it that can be done too. Just wrap it in brandy-soaked towel and then again wrap it in aluminum foil or plastic wrapper.