appetite magazine
Tea-soaked fruitcake
 
 
Author:
Ingredients
  • 300ml Whittard Regal Blend Tea, cold
  • 450g mixed fruit (currants, raisins and sultanas)
  • 150g unsalted butter, soft
  • 150g dark muscovado sugar
  • 4 eggs, large
  • 225g plain flour
  • 1 tbsp treacle
  • ¼ tsp nutmeg
  • ¾ tsp mixed spice
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 110g ground almonds
  • 100g glace cherries
  • 75g mixed peel
  • To finish:
  • Vanilla extract
  • honey
  • flaked almonds
Method
  1. Twelve hours before baking, brew 300ml of tea and leave to cool. Add the mixed fruit to a large bowl, add the cooled tea, and mix through. Leave to soak for 12 hours or overnight.
  2. For the fruit cake, line an 8x3ins cake pan with baking paper and preheat the oven to 170C/Gas 3.
  3. Cream the unsalted butter and dark muscovado sugar together until smooth.
  4. Add one egg followed by ¼ of the flour and mix to combine. Repeat with the remaining eggs and flour until they're mixed through well.
  5. Stir through the treacle, nutmeg, mixed spice, vanilla and baking powder then drain the fruits into a large bowl and add them to the bowl with the ground almonds, glace cherries and mixed peel. Keep the drained liquid to one side.
  6. Fold everything together carefully until it is fully incorporated then pour the mixture into the prepared cake pan and smooth it out.
  7. Bake for 2½ hours until dark golden brown, then remove from the oven.
  8. Poke holes in the top of the fruit cake and drizzle over some of the remaining tea liquid and leave to cool for 30 mins.
  9. Glaze the top with some vanilla and honey, then top with flaked almonds before slicing.
Recipe by appetite magazine at https://www.appetitemag.co.uk/tea-soaked-fruitcake/