Penzance Cake

I am not sure why I have never posted this cake before. So many fruit cakes I suppose and this is another, that looks very rocky! A nod to the landscape nearby perhaps? But the top does resemble a large rock cake. Best made a few days before cutting, it is very delicious, with only the honey as a sweetener and I love the combination of currants and stem ginger. Very Cornish!

You will need an 8 inch spring form cake tin, greased and lined. Pre heat your fan oven to 150C

1 lb Self Raising flour

2 teaspoonfuls of ground cinnamon

4 oz softened butter

1 lb currants

3 oz finely chopped mixed peel

3 oz finely chopped stem ginger

3 large eggs

3 fl oz of runny honey

3 fl oz of whole milk

In a large mixing bowl, place the flour and spice, then add the butter and rub in until it resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in all the fruit. Place the honey and milk in a jug warm in a microwave for a few seconds, Mix well. Add the beaten eggs to the flour mix then stir in the  warmed milk and honey.

Tip into your tin and bake for about 1½ hours but check after 70 mins and turn down if necessary if browning too much.

Cool in the tin for half an hour before turning out onto a rack. 

Note: I like to add a splash of brandy to the mix, or rather add it to the currants the night before. A large splash in fact. The fruit will soak it up.

Quite different from the usual fruit cakes, as it uses the rubbing in method, but nonetheless, very good. We will have another fruit cake next week!