Golden Fruit Cake
Difficulty 
(2)
Just as fruity as a traditional fruit cake, but with a lighter flavour
You may click on any image in this guide to enlarge it.
This cake is a firm favourite with my eldest daughter and is a must for anyone who does not like the heavy traditional fruit cake. Instead of treacle, dark brown sugar, raisins and currents, it has golden syrup, light brown sugar, apricots and sultanas.
Ingredients (to make an 8″ Round or 7″ Square Cake)
7 oz (200 g) Plain flour
1.5 tsps Ground mixed spice
2 oz (50 g) Grounds almonds
6 oz (175 g) Softened butter
6 oz (175g) Soft light brown sugar
1 tbs Golden Syrup
4 Eggs
9 oz (260 g) Chopped apricots
9 oz (260 g) Sultanas
3 oz (75 g) Yellow cherries
3 oz (75 g) Mixed peel
3 oz (75 g) Flaked almonds
Half teaspoon Vanilla extract
Method
Set oven to 160 deg C, 325 deg F or Gas mark 3
Weigh out all the ingredients. Stir mixed spice into flour and then stir in all the fruit until it is well coated.
Mix butter, sugar, golden syrup and ground almonds together until soft and the mixture has become lighter. Mix in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition and add the vanilla extract.
Fold in the flour and fruit a little at a time, stirring just enough to ensure it is all evenly mixed. The mixture should not be sloppy but stiff enough to fall off the spoon in large lumps. If it is too stiff, add a little milk.
Spoon mixture into the prepared tin and spread out to make a fairly flat surface. Tie the newspaper round the outside and place in the centre of the oven.
Cook for approx one hour (checking and adjusting temperature if cakes begins to rise) then reduce to 150 deg C, 300 deg F, Gas mark 2 until the skewer comes out clean (approx half to three quarters of an hour).
As this cake is much lighter, it is much more susceptible to sinking in the middle. To prevent this, place skewer between tin and paper to warm before inserting in the cake and leave cake in the oven for five minutes after skewar comes out clean. This prevents cold air rushing into the holes and making the cake sink.
Leave to cool in the newspaper for an hour, remove newspaper and leave in tin overnight before removing, “feeding” and storing.
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Posted by: Sheila | 10-31-2008 | 11:10 PM
Posted in: Fruit Cake Recipes
Dear Cake Frills – I made this cake for my own birthday months ago and have only just been able to track this site again (must bookmark things!). The cake was wonderful! I used any and all dried fruit I had in the house – cranberries, figs, you name it – and it was really delicious. Thank you!
Glad you enjoyed it and congratulations on experimenting with the ingredients. As long as the amount of dried fruit used is equal to the combined total requested in the recipe the texture will be perfect.
I had a go at making this cake quite recently. My son works in a large office and he took it in to share it with colleagues. Rave reviews from over 30 people who tasted it – I’ve been asked to bake this cake for the office christmas party! An excellent recipe!