simple fruit cake ~ reader request

Simple Fruit Cake

1 kg dried fruit
35 gms slivered almonds (I used almonds that I sliced thinly)
2 tbspns sweet sherry (I used brandy, but could leave this out or use fruit juice)
250 gms brown sugar
250 gms butter, chopped
125 mls milk
3 eggs, beaten lightly
450 gms plain flour
1/2 tspn bi-carbonate of soda
2 tspn mixed spice

Grease a deep 19cm square cake pan, cover base and sides with 3 layers of baking paper, bringing the paper 5cm above the edges of the pan.  

Combine fruit, nuts, sherry and sugar in a large bowl (I left to sit overnight but you don't have to).

Combine butter and milk in small pan.  Stir over heat, without boiling, until butter melts.  Add butter mixture, eggs and sifted dry ingredients to fruit mixture. Mix well.

Spread mixture into prepared pan. Bake at 100C for about 5 hours.  Cover hot cake with foil.  Turn cake onto a board and cool upside down in the pan.

I iced this with lemon icing; mix 2 cups icing sugar, 1 heaped teaspoon butter, juice of one lemon and a little water until you have the right consistency.

There you have it, a big delicious fruit cake! 

You can find an even easier version of fruit cake in this post that I wrote back in 2010.

Enjoy!

xTania