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Sunday 16 December 2012

A LIGHT, SCRUMPTIOUS FRUIT CAKE


Good Morning to you,

Whenever Natasha and Danielle, our daughters, come to stay, they bring  a wonderful energy to our home, which we find very contagious.  When they leave, there is an emptiness in our home and it takes a little while for us to return to the rhythm of our own lives.
  
So, as the girls cannot join us this Christmas,  I am not baking a large Christmas cake, as I would, when they are with us. Instead I  have decided to make something much lighter.
This fruit cake I am baking for you, I  adapted from one of Ivy's recipes.  I have lost count of the number of fruit cakes I have  baked over the years. Do you know, thinking about it, I probably have been making this cake for about 38 years and I must have baked hundreds. Whenever I bake this fruit cake it disappears from the plate in the blink of an eye.


I'll let you into a little secret....when we were younger, we lived abroad and often travelled back to England  to visit George's mother and father. Bob, George's father, developed a very sweet tooth in his later years, so I would always bake a cake for him.
George's brothers, sisters, aunts and uncles would always drop by, to see us when we arrived, so of course the cake was shared with everyone.   The problem was, George's  uncle also had a sweet tooth and loved cake, so enjoyed more than a slice or two.  The sharing of the cake carried on for a few visits, when Bob finally told me, he was getting fed up of sharing  his cake, as he was only able to enjoy a single slice, as everyone else was eating the cake. Now believe me when I say, he was the most generous spirit you could imagine, he would do anything for anyone, but when it came to fruit cake, that was a whole other matter. So to solve the problem I had to bake two cakes, one for Bob and one for George's uncle and the rest of the family. So by baking two cakes everyone was happy. Bob passed away a number of years ago, but do you know, I am still making this fruit cake for George's  uncle, as after all these years it is still his favourite cake. In fact, I am baking one for him for Christmas Eve.  So from an original recipe of Ivy's from the 1940's this fruit cake continues to be enjoyed today.


INGREDIENTS
11 oz self raising flour, sifted
8 oz mixed fruit
6 oz dark demerara sugar
8 oz unsalted butter
1 level teaspoon of salt
1 level teaspoon of cinnamon
1 teaspoon of nutmeg
1 level teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
2 large eggs, whisked
1/2 pint milk
(can be semi skimmed
or full fat)



  Butter  and line a 7inch round cake tin
Heat the oven to 180C degrees
(160C if you have a fan assisted oven)
  

 Using  a large heavy based pan,
yes, trust me, use a pan. 
you will not be disappointed.
You are going to be making a moist,
 boiled fruit cake.


 Pour the milk


 the mixed fruit


 the demerara sugar



 the butter


 the cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and
 bicarbonate of soda


 into the pan and bring to the boil.
Reduce  the heat and
simmer for 5 minutes.
Please keep an eye on the pan as the mixture has a tendency to rise to the top of the pan.


 Leave to cool for half an hour.
Then mix in the sifted self raising flour.
Give the mixture a good beat to make sure there are no flour lumps.
Add the two beaten eggs and mix thoroughly.


 Pour the mixture into the buttered cake tin


 and bake for 1 hour 15 minutes.
(I always check my cake after an hour. For some reason,  it takes anywhere between 1 hour  to 1 hour 15 minutes to bake)
If you find your cake is browning a little
too quickly, then cut a piece of tin foil
large enough to cover the top
of the cake.
Place the tin foil loosely over the cake,
as this will prevent the cake
from browning too much.



.....and there you have it, a delicious, moist fruit cake.  A perfect substitute for a rich Christmas cake.

In the New Year I will share with you Ivy's original recipe and you can see how it compares.
This week I shall be joining,

Take care and I will see you later in the week.




17 comments:

  1. LIndo bolo de Natal.

    E, tens razão: quando os filhos não podem estar no Natal, fica faltando um pedaço. Também tenho um dos meus 4 filhos que ,com sua família, vive na Inglaterra.

    Sei bem das saudades! beijos,linda semana,chica

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good Morning Chica, So you understand how I feel as your children do not live close to you and you are right, there is a missing piece. I hope your son is happy living here in England....and I'm so pleased you enjoyed my recipe for Christmas cake. Take care and have a lovely day. Best Wishes Daphne

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  2. Good Afternoon Daphne and happy Sunday to you!

    Your recipe sounds delicious and simple too.
    I might give it a go as I haven't made a Christmas cake yet!

    I hope that you are not too lonely now that your lovely girls have left but I am sure they brought you great joy when they visited.

    Love the secret of the cake!

    Think if I make it I will have to make two as even though my Mum is only tiny she would eat yourself and loves fruit cake!

    Have a lovely week Daphne.

    x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good Morning Fiona, Do bake this cake, it is quick and simple but not as heavy as a traditional Christmas cake.
      I tell you, your mum will love the cake....let me know what she thinks.
      I enjoy my life, but when the girls come to stay, it reminds me how much I miss them, but I have always encouraged them to travel and live life. They are both very happy, so what more could I want as a mother.
      Enjoy your week, I hope the computer is sorted out for you. Best Wishes Daphne

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  3. What a funny story Daphne! And, what a beautiful presentation of your recipe!, I'm going to try it for this holidays days. Thanks for Sharing this post. It's realy lovely. I have a smile in my face here in Spain very far from you and this is very important, don't you think so?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good Morning Marina, Do you know, it is lovely to hear you are going to bake this cake for Christmas, I know my grandmother Ivy would be thrilled to know that the recipe lives on. You are right, it is good to keep a smile on your face. Have a lovely day, Best Wishes Daphne

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  4. I am a cake eater for breakfast, and this looks delicious!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good Morning Daniela, Oooh, we should form a club, as I am a cake eater too. Have a lovely day. Best Wishes Daphne

      Delete
  5. It sounds delicious and I was charmed by your story about sharing the cake!

    Thanks so much for joining in this week!

    xo
    Claudia

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good Morning Claudia, It is lovely joining you each week as through you I am meeting some wonderful friends.
      I read your post about coffee cake... I love to hear how Christmas traditions begin. Have a lovely day. Best Wishes Daphne

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  6. This cake looks and sounds delicious! Sorry to hear the girls will not be with you this Christmas. My son won't be with me either and yes, I agree the house is quiet without them.

    Have a lovely week!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good Morning Debbie, It is the hustle and bustle the girls create in our home which I miss. The sitting and chatting, laughing and having fun also, but I must not get too dispondent as I will see them again in March. Have a lovely day. Best Wishes Daphne

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  7. I enjoyed your tales of Bob and George! As a young girl I used to make chocolate cakes with chocolate frosting for my grandfather, known as Grandy. My grandmother thought he should not eat sweets. I fixed that! Sorry Nana! (They were made from mixes...but not the frosting.)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Good Morning Marie, I'm so pleased you enjoyed hearing about Bob and George. So your Grandy was the same as Bob, in later life Bob really shouldn't have eaten cakes, but there was no way of stopping him, he said he wanted to enjoy life and he did just that. Have a lovely day, Best Wishes Daphne

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  9. Oh I love Xmas cake... but I'm the only one that will eat it.
    So I just bought a small one today with marzipan icing...
    Thanks for stopping by my blog today.
    I hope you will make use of the potpourri gifts.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I'm with Grandad, this is one of my favorites! Here's to being all together next Christmas x

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  11. Thank you so much for stopping by my blog. I am now following you back. Your pictures look so delicious are making me hungry!!

    Blessings from America,
    Meredith

    ReplyDelete

Dear Friends,

It is so wonderful to know you enjoy reading Ivy, Phyllis and Me! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave me a comment. I really do appreciate it.

Best wishes to you.

Daphne

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