Mulled Wine Fruit And Nut Christmas Cake: Make-ahead Fruitcake

Total Time: 48 hrs 1 min Preparation Time: 48 hrs Cook Time: 1 min

Ingredients

• 18 fluid ounces ruby port
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 6 cloves
• 1 nutmeg
• 1 orange, zest of, strips
• 7 ounces sultanas
• 7 ounces currants
• 7 ounces raisins
• 8 ounces ready to eat prunes, chopped
• 4 ounces sliced almonds
• 4 ounces glace cherries, quartered
• 4 ounces mixed peel
• 8 ounces softened butter
• 8 ounces soft brown sugar
• 4 organic eggs, beaten
• 9 ounces plain flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons mixed spice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 orange, zest of, grated

Recipe

• 1 two days before you bake:.
• 2 gently heat up the port with the strips of orange peel & all the mulled wine spices tied up in a muslin or cloth bag; you will need a large roomy saucepan as you will be adding the fruit to it later.
• 3 bring it to the boil and then take off the heat and allow to cool slightly.
• 4 add all the fruit, prunes, peel & nuts to the mulled wine port mixture, stir it well and cover with a lid.
• 5 leave at room temperature, unless you live in a very hot climate in which case you will need to refrigerate it, for 2 days. i have left this for up to 4 days with no adverse effects!
• 6 the day you bake the cake:.
• 7 pre-heat oven to 160 c or 320°f.
• 8 grease and double line with bakng paper/parchment a loose bottom deep cake tin; i used a 8" diameter round tin with high sides.
• 9 wrap the outside of the cake tin with a double layer of brown paper or baking paper/parchment & tie with string - it stops the cake browning too quickly or too much and is worth the effort!
• 10 beat the butter and sugar together until light & fluffy.
• 11 add the flour bit by bit with the beaten eggs gradually - mix well in between each flour & egg addition. this stops it curdling.
• 12 drain the fruit & nuts - any excess port can be kept for future soakings! discard the mulled wine bag & the strips of orange peel.
• 13 add the fruit and nuts to the cake mixture & mix well.
• 14 add the spices along with the grated peel of one orange and mix well with a wooden spoon.
• 15 spoon the the cake mixture into the prepared tin and level the top.
• 16 make a slight dip in the middle to allow for rising unevenly.
• 17 bake for 30 minutes and then turn the oven down to 150 c or 300 f and bake for a further 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours or until an inserted skewer comes out clean.
• 18 leave the cake to cool in the tin.
• 19 remove from the tin and keep stored in an airtight container - well wrapped in the baking paper/parchment until christmas.
• 20 decorate it with traditional marzipan & icing or a fruit and nut glaze - or just remove from the paper, decorate with a frill and serve it from an attractive cake platter!
• 21 in yorkshire where i come from, we would eat a slice of christmas cake with a slice of wensleydale cheese!