Zoe’s Granny’s Fruit Cake

Preheat the oven to 115°C fan/135°C/gas 1. Cream the butter, sugar, extracts and the lemon zest and juice, along with the treacle and marmalade, if using.

In a separate bowl,mix the flour and ground almonds with the salt and spices.

Add the eggs to the creamed mixture – one at a time with tablespoons of the
flour mix to prevent it from curdling. Beat well.

Fold in the rest of the flour mix and the fruit and nuts, then transfer to a lined cake tin (see notes below) and bake in the oven for 2½– 3 hours, covering with tinfoil if it starts getting too dark on top.

Zoe’s Granny’s Notes: We made cakes after the war with all sorts of proportions. I usually put in a tablespoon of coffee with a spot of milk. The recipe makes my big 10-inch (25cm) cake tin, or one 8-inch (20cm) and one 7 inch (18cm). I butter the tin and flour it, and put a layer of foil outside, standing higher than the tin. I don’t worry too much about the actual proportions of fruit, just make sure they are the correct total – I’ve included dried apricots, dates, prunes, etc. I often use walnuts instead because they’re cheaper. Good luck!

Mini’s notes:  Very little can go wrong with this cake, and I always feed it with brandy for a good month or two before it’s to be eaten, whether for Christmas, Easter or a friend’s wedding. To do this, let the cake cool down completely, then use a skewer to make 8–10 small holes in the top. Spoon over a few tablespoons of brandy/amaretto, then wrap in baking parchment and tin foil, and keep in an airtight container. Continue to feed once a week, turning the cake over each time. You can marzipan and ice the cake a few days before you need it, or decorate it with candied fruit and whole blanched almonds or mixed nuts, with apricot jam (melted and sieved) brushed over to glaze.