Easy Peasy Fruitcake Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 160 C / 320°F.
• Put fruit, water and contents of the whole tin of mangoes (including the natural juice) into a saucepan.
• Bring to the boil and simmer just for a minute.
• Sieve the flours, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan and salt together.
• Beat the eggs lightly in your mixer and gradually combine all the ingredients together.
• Place in a greased round tin lined with baking paper.
• Bake for about 45 minutes to an hour until a skewer comes out clean.

Steps:

• Put the rum (or brandy), orange zest and juice and mixed dried fruit in a bowl and stir. Leave to soak overnight.
• Heat oven to 170C/150C fan/gas 3½. Double line a 20cm tin with baking parchment. Beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Whisk in the eggs one by one, then fold in the almonds and flour. Add a pinch of salt and fold in the soaked fruit mixture (and any remaining liquid in the bowl), along with the nuts, candied peel and ginger. Spoon the mixture into the tin and level the surface.
• Bake for 1 hr, then turn the oven down to 150C/130C fan/gas 2 and bake for a further 2 hrs. Check the cake to see if it's pulling away from the sides of the tin and feels firm on top. If you need to, keep cooking for a further 15 mins. Cool in the tin. If storing in the tin, wrap the cake tightly first. Will freeze for up to two months.
• To decorate, brush the cake with the apricot jam (or glaze) and arrange your choice of candied fruit on top. Will keep in a sealed container for up to three weeks.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter a 6-inch round cake pan.
• Place flour in a bowl. Rub butter into the flour until mixture resembles fine bread crumbs. Add mixed fruit, 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar, and mixed spice. Stir to combine. Add milk and egg and mix until batter is soft and easy to drop.
• Drop batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle light brown sugar on top and pat down with the back of a spoon.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 1 to 1 1/4 hours.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/ gas 3. Grease and line the base of two 20cm springform cake tins with baking parchment.
• Stir together the oil and sugar, add the eggs, flour, baking powder, spices and juices, and mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon until pourable and reasonably runny. Gently fold in the fruit, then divide the batter evenly between the tins. Bake for 20-25 mins or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean, then leave to cool.
• When cool, remove from the tins and sandwich the cakes together with jam. Sieve some icing sugar on top to serve.