Dark Ale Fruit Cake

Recipe courtesy of Plated: A lifetime love affair with food by Tina Duncan, Camberdown Press, RRP $60.00

A slab of fruit cake has always been a favourite with a cup of tea and this cake has served me well over the years. I made it when I was flatting in London in the ’70s for my Christmas cake and when we lived on the farm in the ’90s, I served it to the shearers for afternoon tea. I have shared it many times with friends, so hope you enjoy it too.

Makes: 25cm square cake

Prep time: 20mins | Cook time: 3 hrs 30min

Ingredients

• 250g butter
• 625 g flour
• 500g brown sugar
• 1.25 kg mixed dried fruit
• 1 tsp mixed spice
• 4 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 300ml dark ale
• 1 tsp baking soda

Method

Preheat the oven to 115°C. Grease a 25cm-square cake tin and line with baking paper.

In a large bowl, rub the butter into the flour with your hands. Add the sugar, fruit and spice.

In a separate bowl, beat the eggs with the vanilla.

Warm the dark ale in a saucepan on a gentle heat, then add the egg mixture and baking soda. Mix into the dry ingredients and combine well. Pour into the prepared cake tin.

Bake for 3½ hours, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean and the cake begins to pull away from the sides of the tin. Cool in the tin

TIPS

• If you don’t have a large tin you can use a 20cm-square tin and a loaf tin. Cooking time will be reduced.

• This cake can be cut into squares or slices or iced for a traditional Christmas cake.

• It can be kept in an airtight container for up to 3 months.