RECIPE: Rich Boiled Fruit Cake with Badger Beer

Tried and tested seasonal recipes from our country cookery school kitchen.  As well as hacks and get ahead tips for EVERY cook. 

Total 1 hr 25 mins

• 170 g (6oz) Light soft brown sugar

  ½ teaspoon mixed spice and a grating of nutmeg (approx ½ tsp)

  2 large free range eggs – beaten together

  285 g (10oz) Self raising flour

Method

Weigh fruit into a lidded saucepan, add beer or Dorset cider. Place over high heat and bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Or place pan on your AGA boiling plate with lid on. Quickly bring fruit mixture to boil, then transfer to AGA simmering oven overnight.

Set conventional oven to 160 C and slide shelf to middle run (lower run for fan assisted ovens).

2-oven AGA – slide grid shelf on to floor of roasting oven. Place your AGA cake baker inside to reach correct temperature or utilise a large heavy duty lidded saucepan and trivet that will easily hold cake tin. Failing that ensure your plain shelf is cold.

4-oven AGA – slide grid shelf to sit on floor of oven. (You may need to use your plain shelf towards end of cooking time).

Grease and line cake tin with baking parchment.

Allow fruit mixture to cool slightly, meanwhile cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add beaten eggs, in two stages, along with a tablespoon of flour. Fold to mix well.

Add spice to remaining flour and fold into mixture. Next add cooled fruit and mix until combined.

Spoon cake mixture into prepared tin and bake for approximately 50-60 minutes depending on your particular oven. If using a 2-oven AGA without a cake baker, remember to slide plain shelf onto runner above as soon as you put cake inside to bake. Adjust cooking time accordingly.

Cake is cooked when a skewer inserted into center removes cleanly. Allow to cool in tin on a wire rack (your AGA toaster is ideal) and remove to serve when completely cold.

Notes for Cooks

If you are short of time or using a conventional oven and cannot prepare fruits the day before, simply follow instructions to bring fruit to a steady boil and then simmer with lid removed for 15 minutes with lid removed. Allow to cool and then mix with the remaining ingredients.

This cake keeps really well stored in an airtight tin. It is also my standby recipe at Christmas when I have left it to the last minute to make our own cake.