Apricot, Fig And Spice Christmas Cake

1. Place fruit, liqueur, water, sugar and butter into a large
saucepan. Bring slowly to the boil, stirring occasionally, until
sugar is dissolved. Reduce heat, simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Set
aside and cool. This mixture should be left for at least 3 days and
can be left for up to 2 weeks. Make sure the lid is well secured to
prevent the liquid evaporating.

2. Line a 23cm cake tin with a double layer of Glad Bake. Pre-heat
oven to 130deg.C.

3. Break eggs into a large mixing bowl and beat lightly with the
syrup and lemon zest until combined.

4. Sift flours, spices and bi-carbonate of soda. Add this mixture to
the eggs with the fruit and stir well. Spoon into prepared tin and
smooth the surface. Cover the top with almonds.

5. Bake in oven for approximately 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until the cake
is cooked when tested with a wooden skewer. Remove from oven and
immediately brush with 1 tablespoon of liqueur. Follow instructions
from the Fruit Cake Notes.

Fruit Cake Notes:

1. Choose good quality dried fruit and nuts – check that nuts are
fresh without the taint of rancidity. For a fine texture in the cake,
cut all fruit to the size of a sultana. Any combination of fruit can
be used – it must be equal weight to that used in the recipe. Make
sure the flavours are complimentary. Soak fruit, if necessary, at
least overnight. Cover fruit while soaking to prevent evaporation of
liquid.

2. Lining the tin – use brown paper, greaseproof paper or Glad Bake.
It is best to use 2 layers.

3. Butter – use unsalted butter.

4. Eggs – large hen’s eggs or duck’s eggs can be used. 60g. hen’s
eggs are used in these recipes, so if using duck’s eggs, weigh them
in their shell for the equivalent weight to hen’s eggs.

5. Sugar – when white sugar is required, use caster sugar. For a
darker colour, use brown or black sugar, golden syrup or treacle.
Artificial dark colour can be added with Parisien essence but it has
no flavour.

6. Alcohol – Medium sherry, dark rum, whisky, brandy or
orange-flavoured liqueur (Cointreau or Grand Marnier) are the usual
flavours for fruit cakes. Brush 1-2 tablespoons over the cake
immediately it is removed from the oven. Then cover the cake firmly
with a double layer of aluminium foil while the cake is still hot and
leave aside until completely cold.

7. Tapping – After putting mixture in the tin and smoothing the
surface, drop the tin 3 times to remove air bubbles.

8. Cooking – Times are difficult to estimate because we all use
different ovens. If the cake is becoming too dark, lower the
temperature and cover with some brown paper. If using a convection
oven, use low fan speed or no fan. Fruit cakes are best cooked slowly
on low temperature.

9. Storage – When the cake is completely cold, remove from the tin but
leave the Glad Bake intact and wrap in a double layer of plastic
wrap. Do not leave foil in contact with the cake as the alcohol will
pit the foil. Then wrap the cake in an old clean towel and store in a
cool, dark, dry place in the pantry. Once the cake has been cut,
store in a well-sealed container. Do not store in the refrigerator –
this may cause the sugars to crystallize.