Fast fruit cake

By: Marlo Kitshoff-Carstens

Photo: Andrea Caldwell

1 round cake

250 ml (1 cup) water

250 ml (1 cup) sugar

180 g butter

500 ml (2 cups) sultanas

250 ml (1 cup) raisins

60 ml (4 T) citrus zest

250 g (1 packet) dates, chopped fine

2 50 g (1 box) whole glazed red cherries

3 extra large eggs

5 ml (1 t) bicarbonate of soda

15 ml (1 T) brandy

500 ml (2 cups) cake flour

5 ml (1 t) baking powder

1 ml salt

1 00 g (1 packet) pecan nuts, chopped

60 ml (4 T) brandy

extra brandy for drizzling

Preheat oven to 160 °C.

1. Boil water with sugar, butter, sultanas, raisins, citrus zest, dates and cherries for 20 minutes while stirring on and off.
2. Allow fruit mixture to cool off for 15 minutes.
3. Whisk eggs and stir into fruit mixture.
4.  Add bicarbonate of soda and brandy to fruit mixture and mix well.
5. Sift cake flour, baking powder and salt together and stir into fruit mixture.
6. Add nuts to the batter.
7. Spoon batter into a 22 cm round cake tin that has been lined with two layers of brown paper and sprayed thoroughly with baking spray.
8. Bake for 90 minutes or till cake tester comes out clean.
9. Drizzle brandy (60 ml) over baked cake. Allow to cool off and wrap in foil. Keep in an airtight container.
10. Drizzle regularly with extra brandy and decorate as you wish.