fruit cake

[jannyneve]

i have been asked to bake a rich fruit cake for a birthday,looking through my recipie books some say use plain flour others say use self raising,whats the best ?please help,its going to cost quite a bit to make so i want to get it right,thanks.

[Kim A]

Rich fruit cakes usually don't have much raising agent in them. this is why they tend to have a dense texture. In my experience, the longer a cake says to cook in the recipe, the less raising agent you need. An ordinary fruit cake will normally be made with less fruit, self raising flour and will take less time (40mins-1 hour) to bake. A rich fruit cake normally takes a couple of hours on a very low heat. Just be guided by the recipe you choose. Choose it from a reputable book, or a source you trust and follow it to the letter. If it says s/r flour, use it, if it says plain, likewise. as a guide, rich fruit cakes normally require some sort of decoration (marzipan or icing0 so that might help you in your choice of recipe.

[Kaz081992]

Here's a family recipe I use to make a rich fruit cake, usually for xmas etc. I use plain flour and it tastes great! (Makes quite a large cake).

MAKE AT LEAST 6 WEEKS BEFORE EATING.

1 lb Currants
1 lb Sultanas
1 lb Raisins
9 oz Glace Cherries (halved and rolled in flour)
10 oz Plain Flour
Pinch Salt
� tsp Mixed Spice
1 tsp Cinnamon
10 oz Butter or Margarine
10 oz Soft Brown Sugar
� Lemon (grated rind of)
6 Eggs (Beaten)
3 tbsp Sherry


Heat the oven to 140c.
Line 1x9� square cake tin with 2 layers of greaseproof paper.
Tie double band of brown paper around the outside.
Mix the dried fruit and cherries with the flour, salt and spices.
In a separate bowl, cream the butter, sugar and lemon rind together until pale and fluffy.
Add the eggs to the butter mix, 2 at a time, beating well.
Fold in half of the flour and fruit mix using a metal spoon.
Fold in the rest along with the sherry.
Put the mixture into baking tin, spread evenly, ensuring no air pockets and make a dip in the centre.
Cover the top of the tin with greaseproof paper to prevent over browning.
Line a baking tray with a layer of brown paper and stand cake tin on top.
Place in oven and bake for approx 5 hours.

When cake is cooked and has cooled, prick the cake and pour in 2-3 tablespoons of sherry.
Wrap in foil and store in an airtight container.
When cake has matured, (leave at least 6 weeks), decorate to taste.

(The brown paper round the tin prevents over browning of the cake)

[society]

Kaz, I'm curious to know if the brown paper wrapped outside the baking tin don't burn or become charred. You would think the heat from the oven would burn the paper. Thanks

[vicmarion]

Just to say that the brown paper does not burn or char, I have made many cakes this way and never had a problem.

[rozthatwas]

I agree with all the above. There is one thing that hasn't been mentioned however. I was always told to use a soft flour for cake making, as opposed to a strong flour as used for bread making, but I heard on the radio, a lady who made rich fruit cakes commercially say that she always used strong plain flour,as it helped to support the fruit. I must confess that I haven't tried it, as I haven't made a rich fruit cake for years.

[Kaz081992]

No the paper doesn't burn or anything, with regard to the flour you probably good use a strong one but to be honest I've never had to. I use this recipe every year to make our Christmas Cake and (so far) It's always turned out great.