Australian Farmhouse Boiled Fruit Cake |
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Prep Time: 0 Minutes Cook Time: 180 Minutes |
Ready In: 180 Minutes Servings: 20 |
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This fruit cake is one handed down by generations of Australian farming women and used to feed the hungry farm workers at morning tea .It has won many prizes at Agricultural Shows . Ingredients:
750g sultanas |
500g seeded raisins |
500g currants |
250g mixed preserved ,candied peel |
125g glace cherries |
125g dried apricot ,chopped |
1 cup water |
1 cup dark rum (or orange juice if it suits better) |
500g butter |
500g brown sugar |
1 tbsp treacle |
1tsp bicarbonate of soda |
500g plain flour |
125g self-raising flour |
1/4 tsp salt |
10 eggs |
Directions:
1. Place all the fruit in a saucepan or stock pot
2. Add the water .rum or substitute ,butter,and sugar and bring to the boil , stirring occasionally .
3. Remove from the heat the moment it has boiled and stir in the treacle and bicarb soda .It will fizz a bit .
4. Cover with a lid and leave overnight
5. Next morning , collect your wood and light your wood stove -yes I still have one -it only compliments the gas but I love it for slow baking ! -heats our water in winter too.
6. For the rest in the 21st century ,heat the oven to a slow 150 Cent ,thats about 300 F .
7. Grease and line a deep 12 inch square cake tin or pan .Use several thicknesses of well greased paper and make sure you have no wrinkles -thats the paper ,not our faces !! mine dropped years ago .
8. Sift together the flours and salt
9. Beat the eggs well and add them alternatively to the fruit mixture with the flour .
10. Spoon into the prepared pan filling to about an inch deep ,then smooth into the corners making sure of no air pockets .Then fill with the rest of the mixture .
11. When all the mixture is in ,bump the pan on the bench to settle the mixture evenly .
12. Bake for 3 hours until a skewer inserted comes out cleanly .
13. The cake should have a smooth appearance on the top , bottom,and sides and should be moist to the touch ,with a shiny surface .
14. This will keep for months if stored ,well wrapped in an air tight container ,and will only improve with age ,like a good wine .
15. Any combination of dried fruits can be used depending on what you have available .This comes from a time when most ingredients would have been home sourced from the orchard
16. I have used small amounts dried mango and pawpaw to great applause
17. Note -for some nostalgic reason ,this always tastes better ,as do roasted meats ,when cooked in our wood fired combustion range .I'm not sure there is a rational scientific reason ,just romance but whats the world without romance !!!
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