Baking weekend !

For two consecutive weekends, I had to stay home to teach the kids for their exams.  So what to do on a stay-home weekend in the Christmas season ? - Bake !
And that's what I did - I baked fruitcake.  It's not my first time.  My friends and I did this when we were younger.  It was for business.  Now I am baking for pleasure - for my family.

Have shown here the ingredients , the mixture and the finished product.  My hubby and youngest son loved it   You could taste the crunchy fruits on every bite. The cherry brandy is not so overwhelming and the cake doesn't crumble when you cut it.

Tips :
  - you will prepare 3 mixtures : fruit mixture, flour mixture and the egg mixture
  - when I baked this cake, I used banyo maria or bain marie to keep the fruitcake from over-drying
  - wait about 1 hour after baking before you brush with brandy (this is very important)

Recipe

Ingredients :
     450g glazed fruits
     175g raisins
     50g glace cherries
     3 tbsp cherry brandy
     1 cup flour
     1/2 tsp salt
     1/2 tsp mixed spice
     1/2 tsp cloves
     225g unsalted butter
     1 cup dark brown sugar
     4 large eggs
     50g slivered almonds
     2 tsp molasses
     zest of 1 lemon
     zest of 1 orange
     additional brandy for brushing later
     50g almonds  (chopped)
      additional cherries for topping

Other items :
    parchment paper
    skewer for checking doneness
    aluminum foil
    fruitcake baking tins
    butter to grease pans and parchment paper

Preparation
1. Soak the fruits , cherries, raisins in cherry brandy overnight
2.  Preheat the oven to 140 deg C
3.  Prepare the baking tins by greasing it with butter
4.  Line the baking tins with buttered parchment paper
     Tip : when lining, the parchment paper should go by 2 inches above the edge of tin (see picture)
4.  Prepare the flour mixture : flour, salt, allspice, cloves.  Sift.
5.  Prepare the egg mixture : Beat the eggs. Set aside.
      Cream the butter and sugar with a mixer
      Add the eggs one by one into the mixture.  Beat after each addition
6.  Add the blended mixture in the flour mixture.  Fold.
7.  Pour in the fruit mixture, the slivered almonds, chopped almonds, orange and lemon zest. 
     Mix well.
8.  Pour into the fruitcake baking tins. 
9.  Top with 6 pcs glace cherries (optional)
10.  Bake for about 2 hours in bain marie.  But do check with a skewer.  If the skewer comes out clean, it's done.
   
You may want to replace some ingredients with sultanas, candied peel, chopped walnuts
or adding spices like nutmeg or cinammon. 

Some of the ingredients



Enjoy !