michelle picker cooks

Now is the perfect time to make a fruit cake for Christmas – plenty of time to feed it rum! Adapted from this recipe by Laura from A beautiful PLATE.

First chop 300g (2 cups) of dried apricots, 160g (1 cup) of unsweetened black figs, 160g (1 cup) of unsweetened sour cherries and 120g (¾ of a cup) of dried unsweetened prunes. Add 200g (1¼ cups) of dark raisins and 200g (1¼ cups) of golden raisins and mix to combine. Put the dried fruit into a deep bowl or glass jar and add 1 cup of spiced rum. Leave the fruit soaking for at least 24 hours or up to 4 weeks. When you’re ready to make the cake, preheat your oven to 150°C (300°F) and grease and line 2 loaf pans. In a mixing bowl whisk 180g (1½ cups) of unbleached all-purpose flour, ½ a teaspoon of baking powder, 1 of teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon of ground ginger, ¼ of a teaspoon of freshly grated nutmeg and 1 teaspoon of salt. Set aside. In a bowl or stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream 115g (4 oz) of softened butter and 160g (¾ of a cup) of light brown sugar together until light and fluffy. Carefully add 5 large room temperature eggs, one at a time, beating just until each egg is incorporated. The mixture will look slightly broken. Slowly add the flour mixture until just absorbed. Stir in 1 tablespoon each of freshly grated lemon and orange zest, 120ml (½ a cup) of fresh orange juice, 1 peeled and coarsely grated apple, 90g (¾ of a cup) of toasted slivered almonds, and 3 tablespoons of finely diced crystallised ginger. Add the soaked dried fruit mixture along with any liquid that hasn’t been absorbed and finally, 100g (⅔ of a cup) of chopped bittersweet chocolate.. Stir the mixture well to make sure all of the ingredients are evenly incorporated. Divide the batter evenly into the loaf pans and smooth the top. Put the loaf pans in the centre of the oven and bake for 1¼ – 1½ hours, rotating the pans halfway through, until set and golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool completely before removing from the pans. When cooled, soak some cheesecloth in spiced rum and wrap the cakes in the cheesecloth, followed by wax paper and foil and finally in a plastic bag. Keep in the fridge. Remove weekly and either re-soak the cheesecloth or brush the cakes with rum. Serve this boozy cake with some vanilla custard,