This recipe did win a prize in 1937.  This is my favourite fruit cake and I have been baking this for a long time. It takes a little bit of effort but it is definitely worth it.

Ingredients

• 500g sultanas
• 500g currants
• 250g chopped raisins
• 125g glace cherries halved
• 1/3 cup mixed peel
• 185g blanched almonds
• 1/3 cup orange marmalade
• 1 tbsp grated orange rind
• 2 tsp grated lemon rind
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 2/3 cup brandy
• 500g butter
• 500g brown sugar firmly packed
• 8 eggs
• 3 cups plain flour
• 1 cup self-raising flour

Method

Combine fruit, almonds, marmalade, rinds, juice and brandy in a large bowl; mix well. cover bowl, stand mixture for up to a week.  Cream butter with sugar in a large bowl with electric mixer only until ingredients are combined. Beat in eggs one at a time, beat only until combined between each addition.  Add creamed mixture to fruit mixture, mix well; mix in sifted flours in 2 lots.

Spread mixture evenly into deep 25cm square or 28cm round prepared cake tins. Bake in Slow oven 150 deg C for 3-5 hours. Tip: I wrap newspapers around the tin to keep the cake from burning or drying out – refer photo on post.

Note: Oven temperatures vary and my cake cooks in 2.5 hours in my fan forced oven. Start checking your cake at the 2 hour mark.