Citrus Drizzle Fruit and Nut Cake Recipe

Fruit cakes can often be too dry, too rich, or too Christmassy to be really wanted and they get left uninspired and unloved in the cupboard. This cake however, bursts with flavour and texture and is perfect any time, any occasion. I have adapted and amended this recipe over time to create the ultimate, luxurious moist fruit cake with chunky pecans and delicious honey and citrus drizzle. This is what cravings are all about and it deserves to be celebrated.

Don't be put off by the long list of ingredients. After you have made it once, you will find that you probably only need to buy an orange, a lemon and some eggs to make it again - you will want to make it again - and the dried fruit and nuts keep happily until next time in the cupboard.

The cake needs to be left to cool in between stages, so I often start it early and have it 'going on' in the background so it can do its thing whilst I do mine. I think the longer the fruit soaks and cools, the better. This is not an instant cake but it really is well worth the wait.

To really do this cake justice you will need a deep cake tin 18cm/7inch, greased and lined.

Citrus Drizzle Fruit and Nut Cake Recipe

Ingredients:

Fruit and nut mixture:

• 6oz prunes
• 2oz apricots + few more for decoration
• 2oz dates
• 8 glace cherries + few more
• 5oz pecan nuts + few more
• 3 balls of stem ginger in syrup
• Zest of 1 orange
• Zest of 1 lemon

Cake mixture:

• 6oz butter
• 6oz soft brown sugar
• ½ pint water
• 8oz plain flour
• 1tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 2 large eggs

Citrus drizzle:

• Juice of 1 orange
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 tbsp honey

Decoration and glaze:

• Apricot jam
• pecans, apricots, cherries.

Method:

1. Roughly chop the fruit and nut mixture into a mixing bowl.
2. Dissolve the butter, sugar and water in a large saucepan.
3. Add the fruit mixture to the pan and simmer for 15 minutes then leave to cool (at least 1 ½ hrs).
4. Put flour and bicarbonate of soda in mixing bowl, add the cool fruit mixture.
5. Whisk the eggs and add to the rest.
6. Pour into the tin and bake for 1hr 15 minutes.
7. Boil the citrus drizzle in a pan for 2 minutes.
8. Pierce cake all over and pour over the syrup. Leave cake to cool in tin.
9. Bring some Apricot jam to the boil. Remove cake from tin and brush with the jam. Decorate with a few pecans, apricots and cherries and glaze again with jam.

For me, this has become a once-a-month store cupboard cake and a cup of tea really seems lost now without a nice wedge to accompany it.