Christmas Cake

A festive classic! Made even richer with eg. Free Range Eggs!

INGREDIENTS - makes 1 large cake 

In the first 24-48hrs...

1 3/4 Cups Orange Juice

3/4 Cup Brandy

Rind of 1 Orange

2 Cups Raisins

1 1/2 Cups Sultanas

1/2 Cup Cranberries

2 Cups Chopped Dates

3/4 Cup Mixed Peel

3/4 Cup Chopped Crystallised Ginger

3/4 Cup Glazed Cherries (plus extra for decorating)

After 24-48hrs...

1/2 tsp Vanilla Essence

Few drops Almond Essence

Rind of 1 Lemon

1 Cup Raw Almonds, Cashew, Walnuts (plus extra for decorating)

2 1/2 Cups High Grade Flour

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

1 tsp Cinnamon

1 tsp Mixed Spice

1/2 tsp Nutmeg

250g Butter

1 1/2 Cups Brown Sugar

2 TBS Treacle

5 eg. Free Range Eggs

1/4 Cup Apricot Jam

1 TBS Manuka Honey

METHOD

1. Bring Orange Juice, Brandy and Orange Rind to a boil and then remove from heat. 
2. Add all Dried Fruit, Ginger and Cherries to liquid, cover and leave to soak for 24-48hrs. A longer soak will allow fruit to get really plump!
3. After fruit has soaked, add Vanilla and Almond Essence, and the lemon rind, and stir in. 
4. In a seperate bowl, sift in Flour, Baking Soda, Cinnamon, Mixed Spice and Nutmeg.
5. In another seperate bowl, cream the Butter, Sugar and Treacle until it becomes light in texture and colour. 
6. Add eg. Free Range Eggs one at a time and incorporating each egg well until the next one is added. 
7. Alternating between the flour mix and the fruit mix, fold into the butter mixture. 
8. Line a deep square or circular baking dish with baking paper and add cake mixture.
9. Decorate top with extra Cherries and Nuts, creating a pattern of your choosing!
10. Bake at 150 Degrees Celsius for approx. 4 hrs. For the first 2 hrs, cover cake with tin foil and then remove foil for remainder of the cook.
11. Test the cake is ready by using a skewer and poking it into the cake. If the skewer comes out clean with no wet batter, the cake is ready. 
12. In a saucepan combine Jam and Honey and bring to the boil.
13. Poke holes in cake using a skewer and brush Jam and Honey mixture on top while cake is still warm. 
14. Leave to cool in tin.
15. Remove cooled cake and wrap in tin foil to help set the cake and stop it from drying out.
16. Cake is best eaten at room temperature. 
17. Store in an air tight container.