I have spent most of this week cake decorating. I have barely done any of my work on slate, none on writing and very little around the house and garden. This, as you may have guessed, is a special cake. This is my nephew’s wedding cake. Three tier, top and bottom in rich fruit, very rich fruit, and the centre one of chocolate sponge.
There were over 90 fondant roses on this cake, all made over a number of evenings. I created the tool to imprint the Celtic love-knot round the sides and repousséd out of thin aluminium sheet (empty beer cans) the tools to imprint rose and rose-leaf patterns for the top and edge of the cake. Just covering the cakes and arranging the roses took over eight hours – nevermind the making of the cakes and the roses.
If you ever need a superb and very versatile recipe for a very rich moist fruit cake then here is one we have used for over 40years – it will fit any size or shape of tin – but only comes in imperial measurements!
THE ADAPTABLE CAKE RECIPE
**measure how many pints of water your cake tin holds(to about 1/2 inch from top)
Then follow this recipe PER PINT !
- 5 oz currants
- 2 oz sultanas
- 2 oz raisins
- 1 ½ oz glace cherries
- 1 oz mixed peel (or if you don’t like this add same chopped ‘dried’ ready to eat apricots)
- 3 ½ oz plain flour
- ¼ teaspoon mixed spice
- 3 oz butter (or marg)
- 3 oz soft dark brown sugar
- 1 ½ eggs
- wine – any – to soak the fruit ( acouple of glasses willl be enough for a medium sized cake)
- Wash the dried fruit in HOT water to remove the oil. Drain very well, place in large bowl and slosh over the wine (couple of glasses will usually do the lot) and leave to stand, stir occasionally, leave overnight. The fruit will absorb most of the wine
- Double line the tin with two layers of greaseproof paper.
- Beat together the butter and sugar, add beaten eggs, sieved flour, mixed spice and beat well
- Chop cherries and toss in some of the flour (with mixed peel – if using)
- Drain soaked fruit (if required) then stir in All fruit, mixing well
- Spoon into lined tin, spread to make sides slightly higher than centre.
- Bake at 150 C or Fan oven 140 c
For 3 – 3 ½ hours until a skewer comes out without uncooked cake mix on.
12 inch square = 8 ½ pints approx *
10 ½ inch square = 7 pints *
7 inch square = 3 pints *
***Check with your own tins – take the measurement to about ½ inch down from the top of the tin – not right to the top.