One of our heritage recipes, this fruit cake was originally published in November 1940, and is still just as delicious today. This easy bake relies on a standard teacup measurement, with about 200ml volume. It’s egg-free as it was originally made during a time when fresh eggs were in short supply.
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Yields:
10 serving(s)
Prep Time:
15 mins
Cook Time:
1 hr 45 mins
Total Time:
2 hrs
Cal/Serv:
431
Ingredients
1
teacupful softened butter, plus extra to grease
1
teacupful dried mixed fruit
1
teacupful dark brown soft sugar
1/2tsp.
ground ginger
1tsp.
mixed spice
1/2tsp.
ground nutmeg
1/2tsp.
bicarbonate of soda
2tsp.
milk
2
teacupfuls plain flour
1tsp.
baking powder
Directions
Step 1Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan) mark 4. Grease and line an 18cm round tin with baking parchment.
Step 2In a large pan, mix the dried fruit, butter, sugar, spices and a teacupful of water. Bring to the boil over medium heat and bubble for 10min. Set the mixture aside to cool.
Step 3In a small bowl, mix the bicarbonate of soda and milk, then add to the pan with the flour and baking powder. Briefly mix to combine (do not beat).
Step 4Scrape the mixture into the lined tin, smooth to level and bake for 30min. Reduce the oven temperature to 150°C (130°C fan) mark 2 and continue to bake for 1hr, or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
Step 5Leave the cake to cool completely in the tin before transferring to a board. Serve in slices.
TO STORE Once cool, keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
An experienced and highly skilled team of food writers, stylists and digital content producers, the Good Housekeeping Cookery Team is a close-knit squad of food obsessives. Cookery Editor Emma Franklin is our resident chilli obsessive and barbecue expert, who spends an inordinate amount of time on holidays poking round the local supermarkets seeking out new and exciting foods. Senior Cookery Writer Alice Shields is a former pastry chef and baking fanatic who loves making bread and would have peanut butter with everything if she could. Her favourite carb is pasta, and our vibrant green spaghetti is her weeknight go-to. Lover of all things savoury, Senior Cookery Writer Grace Evans can be found eating crispy corn and nocellara olives at every opportunity, and will take the cheeseboard over dessert any time (though she cannot resist a slice of tres leches cake). With a wealth of professional kitchen know-how, culinary training and years of experience between them, they are all dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work (and if they don’t – we’ll have the answer for why*) every time (*90% of the time the answer is: “buy an separate oven thermometer”!).