How To Make Simple, Soft And Crumble Fruit-cake
There are many different varieties of fruit cake and one common thing in them is the inclusion of the dried fruits like the the raisins or candied fruits like glacé cherries, mixed orange and lemon peels, nuts and sometimes spices and optionally soaked in spirits for a longer shelf life and taste.
What I have here is a simple cake recipe with a soft crumble with the addition of the fruits. The amount of fruits is dependent on one's taste and preference.
When it comes to baking, the cooking time is dependent on the size of cooking tin and what you need to look out for is a evenly browned top and a tooth pick/small knife inserted comes out clean and dry. If the inside is not cooked through and the cake is already browned, reduce the heat to 160ºC.
Fruit-cake recipe
Ingredients:
➔300 g Unsalted Butter/Margarine Softened.➔250 g Sugar.
➔1 tsp Vanilla extract/essence.
➔Pinch of salt (If using unsalted butter/margarine).
➔5 Eggs.
➔380 g Plain flour.
➔4 Tsp. Baking Powder.
➔150 g Mixed Dried Fruits (Mix equal amounts of raisins, orange peels, red glacé cherries to make 150 g) You can add more fruits if you like.
Method:
Pre-heat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF. Grease a rectangular/square tin and line with a greaseproof paper or simply dust with a thin coat of flour.
Place the butter in a bowl and beat till smooth then stir in the sugar, salt and vanilla extract until thickened and smooth.
Add the eggs one at a time whisking vigorously each time before the next.
Sift the flour and baking powder into the butter and egg mixture and mix well until all the flour is not visible. When done the batter will be thick.
Add the mixed fruits and mix into the thick batter. (You can add more fruits if you feel you need more).
Bake for about 25 minutes when using a large rectangular pan or until the cake has browned on top and firm when pressed at the centre. You can also check by dipping a small knife or toothpick at the centre or the cake, which should come out dry when ready.
Leave to cool in the tin for about 10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack. Divide accordingly and dust with icing sugar.
NOTE: The baking tin will determine the baking time and what needs to be noted is the smaller the tin the longer the cake will take to cook. The bigger the tin the more the cake mixture is spread out and the cake will bake faster.
Avoid opening the oven until the cake is set (about 20 minutes) into baking. This is to avoid the cake from collapsing at the centre due to the introduction of cold air into the oven that caused the cake to collapse.
