This boiled fruit cake recipe is lighter, quicker and easier to prepare than my traditional Rich Fruit Cake (which is also quick to prepare but takes a lot longer to cook). Perfect spread with butter for an old-fashioned tea time treat, this is a cake that improves with keeping and will cut better a few days after it is baked. However it is delicious just out of the oven so if you don’t mind a few crumbs you can eat it straight away.
Based on my grandmother’s recipe, I have changed the fruit content to use dried mixed fruit rather than buying all the different fruits individually. If you have a bag of mixed fruit soaked in brandy left over from Christmas you can use this, it will add a hint of extra flavour with the brandy. Otherwise the standard dried mixed fruit works well for this cake, if the mix you are using doesn’t include glace cherries then you might like to add a few of them as well.
To make a boiled fruit cake you simply put the mixed fruit, butter, sugar, water and spices in a large saucepan, heat it over a high heat until the mixture boils then cook for about 10 minutes, until the fruit is nice and plump and the mixture thickens.
You then need to let the boiled fruit cool completely before adding the other ingredients. To cool it quickly I usually spread the boiled fruit out in a shallow tin and stir it occasionally, it should cool in 10 – 15 minutes, depending on the temperature of the kitchen.
Once the fruit has cooled, just add the remaining ingredients – egg, flour and baking powder and pour the mixture into a lined loaf tin.
Bake until the top of the cake feels firm to the touch and a skewer inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean, with no cake mix stuck to it. This will take approx 1 – 1 1/2 hours at 140C (fan). Allow the cake to cool before cutting, it will crumble if it’s still warm. Ideally you could leave the cake overnight before cutting as it will cut better then. This is absolutely delicious spread with butter and enjoyed with a cup of tea or coffee.
Boiled Fruit Cake
Equipment
- 1 large (2lb/900 g) loaf tin, lined with a liner or baking paper or 2 smaller (1lb/450 g) loaf tins
- 1 heavy based large saucepan
Ingredients
- 700 g dried mixed fruit either plain or soaked in brandy is fine, if the mix doesn't include glace cherries you can replace 50 g of the total with cherries
- 225 g butter
- 225 g caster sugar
- 225 ml water
- 1 level teaspoon ground mixed spice
- 1 level teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 level teaspoon baking powder
- 225 g plain flour
- 2 large eggs
Instructions
- Place the fruit, butter, sugar, water and spices in the saucepan and heat over a high heat, stirring occasionally until the mixture boils. Boil for about 10 minutes until the fruit has plumped up and the liquid has thickened. Remove from the heat and allow to cool completely.
- Once the mixture has cooled, preheat the oven to 140C (fan). Add the remaining ingredients to the boiled fruit – baking powder, flour and eggs and stir gently, keep stirring until everything is completely combined.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake until cooked – this will take 1 – 1 1/2 hours or more. The cake is ready when the top is firm – if you press gently in the centre the cake will spring back again and not leave an imprint and you can check with a skewer inserted in the centre – if the skewer comes out clean with no cake mixture stuck to it the cake is ready.