There are many recipes for boiled fruitcake, but this is the only one
I've ever made (not that I've made it for years or anything - the first
time I made the boiled type of fruitcake was last year). So, for Charlie
and Bob, and anyone else who might like to try this recipe, here it is.
Boiled Fruit Cake (from www.glad.com.au)
Note: measures are Australian, so 1 cup = 250ml, 1 tablespoon = 20ml
1/4 cup glace ginger, roughly chopped
1/2 cup glace cherries, halved
125g prunes, stoned, chopped
125g dates, stoned, chopped
375g sultanas or raisins*
125g butter or margarine (I always use butter)
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon mixed spice**
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup dry sherry or brandy
2 eggs, well beaten
2 tablespoons marmalade
1 cup plain flour, sifted
1 cup SR flour, sifted
Line a 20cm cake tin with baking paper. Place all fruit in a large
saucepan with the butter, sugar, spice and water and stir over a low heat
until the butter has melted.
Bring to the boil, boil for 3 minutes, remove from heat and cool. Beat in
the sherry/brandy, eggs and marmalade then fold in the flours mixing well
to combine.
Spoon the mixture into prepared tin and place a collar of aluminium foil
around the outside of the tin, extending just above the rim. This will
slow down the cooking and prevent the cake from overcooking too quickly
on the outside.***
Bake in the lower half of the oven at 150C for 2 hours or until cooked.
Cool then wrap securely until required.
*in US sultanas are known as golden raisins, I believe. I use a mixture
of sultanas and raisins
** mixed spice is a commercial spice mix commonly available here - the
container in my pantry lists ingredients as cinnamon, coriander, ginger,
cassia, pimento (this would be allspice), cloves and nutmeg. I think
Pumpkin Pie spice would be an acceptable substitute
*** because fruitcakes take so long to cook, you can be in danger of
having the outside overcook. When I bake fruitcakes I usually line the
tin with 2 layers of plain brown paper, and then 2 layers of baking
paper. This helps protect the outside crust. When I baked this cake I
used one layer of brown paper, and used the foil collar as suggested in
the recipe. There was no overcooking of the crust.