Although we will eat it, no-one at my house is that keen on the heavy rich fruit cake you have at Christmas time.
We’ll all happily tuck into a lighter version, so I thought I’d add a bit of a wintery feel by using a mulled wine soak to the fruit.
It’s not as moist or rich as your traditional fruit cake but goes down very well especially with a cup of tea (or glass of mulled wine!).
Mulled wine soak bit
1 cinnamon stick
¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
4 cloves
Zest of 1 orange
¼ cup red wine
225g self raising flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp mixed spice
1 tsp baking powder
115g soft brown sugar
115g soft butter or spread
225g dried fruit (I used 50g cranberries & 175g mixed dried fruit)
2 medium eggs
2 tbsp milk
Crusty topping bit
65g demerara sugar
65g butter/spread
The tin I used was a loaf tin measuring 22cm x 13cm (height 6.5 cm) you could also use a 7” round tin.
Preferably the night before you want to bake the cake, place all the mulled wine ingredients into a small saucepan. Gently heat until hot but not boiling. Then turn off the heat and leave covered until ready to use.
About an hour before you want to bake place the dried fruit into a bowl. From the wine mix remove the cloves & cinnamon stick (you could use these in real mulled wine after!)
Pour the wine mix over the fruit and stir then leave to infuse.
Preheat the oven 160 C (fan 140C gm3)
In a bowl sieve the flour, spices & baking powder & stir. Then add the soft brown sugar, butter, eggs & milk. Mix well either with a wooden spoon or using a mixer. Add the fruit and fold through.
Place in the tin, smooth the top to even.
Melt the butter for the topping then sprinkle the top of the cake with the demerara & drizzle over the melted butter.
Bake with a baking tray on the shelf below (I had butter spillage!) for 45min- 1 hour until firm to the touch and a skewer comes out clear. Cool for 5-10 mins in the tin then turn out on a wire rack to cool. Fab warm with a cuppa!
You can vary the fruit & spices to your taste and make a different loaf every time you bake it. The crunchy topping is lovely but not essential. Makes it harder to slice but easier to keep eating! Enjoy ♥
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