Tea-soaked fruitcake
Author: Whittard of Chelsea - @mykitchendrawer & @whittardofchelsea1886
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
- 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.
- For the fruit cake, line an 8x3ins cake pan with baking paper and preheat the oven to 170C/Gas 3.
- Cream the unsalted butter and dark muscovado sugar together until smooth.
- 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.
- 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.
- Fold everything together carefully until it is fully incorporated then pour the mixture into the prepared cake pan and smooth it out.
- Bake for 2½ hours until dark golden brown, then remove from the oven.
- 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.
- Glaze the top with some vanilla and honey, then top with flaked almonds before slicing.
