Old Fashioned Moist Boiled Fruit Cake

Please don’t be put off by the main ingredient! It makes the most moist and wonderful, unusual textured fruit cake, that I guarantee you will love! I tried to take as close a photo as possible to show you! It is a very easy recipe but does need some thinking ahead. Clarifying the dripping is very easy….. most blocks of dripping sold these days are more or less pure, but this does take out any impurities, plus it softens the fat.

The day before you make your cake, take your required amount of dripping, plus a little extra and place it in a large pyrex jug in the microwave to melt. Pour over about double the quantity of boiling water and whisk well. Leave to cool and set. Take off the solid dripping from the top, making sure you don’t add any impurities. That’s it! Throw the rest away.

Place in a medium/large saucepan: [still the day before]

3½ oz of clarified dripping

12 oz dried mixed fruit [I soak it for a couple of hours in a little splash of brandy!]

5 oz soft dark brown sugar

the grated zest of an orange

juice from the orange and water, made up to 8 fl oz in total

Bring the fruit mix to the boil, stirring until the sugar has melted! Leave leave to cool overnight.

Next day! Grease and line a 2lb loaf tin [I always leave the parchment hanging over the long sides to help lift it out]. Then pre heat your fan oven to 160C.

Add:

9 oz plain flour [sifted - important]

1 teaspoonful baking powder

½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

½ teaspoon mixed spice [or more if you wish]

3 large eggs, beaten well

Mix until well combined, then pour into your prepared tin. Bake for about 1 hour, maybe 10 mins longer, but reduce the temperature then. Cool in the tin for at least 20 mins, before cooling on a rack.

Just lovely. Almost puddingy. Enjoy!! Great with custard too.