One Handed Baker

Pineapple Fruit Cake

This fruit cake is moist, full of flavour and easy to make. Perfect as an easy substitute Christmas Cake (you could even layer with marzipan and icing if you like.) I just brush a quick bit of apricot jam on top for a simple glaze. I’m a bit fickle with fruit cakes – if I had to list my top five cakes, fruit cake wouldn’t get a look-in. BUT place this cake in front of me and I can easily devour a huge slice (or two!). It’s delicious! 

Versions of this recipe have been around for decades, and I don’t know who first came up with it. I’ve made a couple of changes to the one I originally had, including swopping the white sugar for brown sugar (although either does work).

Ingredients:

• 500g mixed dried fruit
• 425g tin of crushed pineapple in juice (don’t drain)  
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 125g butter, chopped
• 1 tsp mixed spice
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup self-raising flour
• 1 cup plain flour
• Optional: apricot jam to glaze.

Directions:

1. Line a 23cm cake tin with baking paper.
2. Place mixed dried fruit, crushed pineapple (including the juice), butter, brown sugar, mixed spice and cinnamon into a saucepan. Bring to the boil for 5 mins.
3. Stir in the baking soda. Turn off the heat and leave to cool. Pre-heat oven to 160°C.
4. Once cooled, add in two lightly beaten eggs and both types of flour. Mix well to combine.
5. Pour into prepared cake tin and bake for 40 minutes or until the top turns golden. Then remove from oven, quickly cover with foil, return to the oven and continue to bake for another 50 minutes or until cooked.
6. Leave cake in tin for 10 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack to cool.
7. Optional: mix some apricot jam with a little hot water, then brush over cake to glaze.

TIPS

• This cake keeps for several days in a sealed container. 
• If you like, you could add some brandy or brandy essence into the mix before baking. Alternatively, poke some holes into the cooked cake, and ‘feed’ the cake that way. I don’t bother with either of these steps and the cake is perfectly delicious! 
• I brush the cooled cake with some apricot jam mixed with a little hot water, to glaze. You could use marzipan and white icing for a traditional Christmas cake look, but again – I like to keep things simple!
• You could add some chopped nuts, or slivered almonds to the cake batter. I’ve added pistachios before which worked well.
• I often buy a 400g bag of mixed dried fruit and add an additional 100g of sultanas to reach the right amount of fruit. 
• Don’t drain the crushed pineapple! Use all of that lovely liquid to plump up the dried fruit and keep the cake beautifully moist.
• Covering the cake with tin foil part way through cooking effectively ‘steams’ the cake. This means it carries on cooking without drying out or getting too dark on top.

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