If you thought fruit cake was just for Christmas, you’ve never spent time in Yorkshire. A good fruit cake is the kind of treat we enjoy all year round and is the kind of treat the slow food movement is all about, with time taken to soak the fruit to perfection before slowly baking it in a low oven until it’s cooked through but perfectly moist.
Whether you’re serving it to guests as part of a more formal afternoon tea, or just cutting off a corner to go with your cuppa during a well-earned break, there’s no better way to eat it than with a piece of cheese. Here in Kettlewell, we like to eat it with some of the Wensleydale that’s made just up the valley from here in Hawes, but it works just as well with a good cheddar or a hard goat’s or sheep’s cheese.
If – like the author of this post – you’re from the South of England and think eating fruit cake with cheese is, if not exactly weird, at least unexpected, I can only say that you shouldn’t knock it until you’ve tried it. My first introduction to this culinary tradition was at my parents-in-law’s home in Cumbria, and they’d taken it with them from their time in Grassington, just a few miles from here. It turns out, it’s a combination that works very well, with the salty sharpness of the cheese offset by the rich, sweet fruit and treacle. With cheese or without, at Christmas or not, we know you’ll love this cake.
If you’ve made this recipe, why not share a photo of it on social media with the hashtag #kettlewellscarecrow? We’d love to see how you get on!
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Judels's Fruit Cake
This is the ultimate moist, rich fruit cake. Don't be put off by the timings: it's worth soaking the fruit that long to get the fullness of flavour. Whether you're eating a small slice with a piece of our local Wensleydale cheese, or planning on making this as a Christmas cake to be lovingly fed over a few weeks, with this foolproof recipe, you can't go wrong.
Ingredients
- 675g currants
- 450g sultanas
- 225g raisins
- 450g glace cherries, halved
- Grated rind of 2 oranges
- 300ml cream sherry
- 350g soft unsalted butter
- 350g dark muscovado sugar
- 6 large free range eggs
- 100g self raising flour
- 225g plain flour
- 1 tbsp black treacle
- 2 tsp ground mixed spice
Instructions
- Put all the fruit in a container with the orange rind and stir in the sherry.
- Cover with a lid or cling film and leave for 2 days, give it a stir every day. We promise: the 2 days are worth it! Just look at the difference:
- Measure the butter, eggs, sugar and treacle into a large bowl and beat well.
- Add both flours and spice and mix thoroughly until blended.
- Stir in the soaked fruit. The soaked fruit being quite heavy, Judels recommends placing the bowl with the cake mix in the sink and then resting the bowl of fruit on the counter above as you empty it into the batter below.
- Grease and line a 9" square cake tin with non-stick baking paper.
- Spoon the mixture into the tin and level out evenly.
- Cook in a fan oven at 140 degrees C (or a simmering oven of an Aga) for 7 - 8 hours.
- Check the cake is cooked by piercing through the centre of the cake with a skewer. If it comes out clean the cake is cooked, but if not put the cake back in the oven for a further 30 minutes and test again.
- Leave to cool in the tin and then turn out.
Notes
Apart from parkin, no cake quite represents a Yorkshire afternon tea the way fruit cake does. For us, it's not just for Christmas, a good fruit cake is an effort worth making year round, and is the perfect mid-afternoon pick-me-up with a piece of cheese - Wensleydale round here - and a good, strong, brew.
Soaking the fruit gives the cake a moistness that means it'll keep for a while, if you can keep people from eating it that long. And of course, this recipe is perfect for Christmas, too, fed for a few weeks with your choice of rum, brandy or whisky.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
27Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 403Total Fat: 16gSaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 82mgSodium: 76mgCarbohydrates: 65gFiber: 4gSugar: 48gProtein: 5g
Nutritional data provided is a guideline and will vary according to precise ingredients used and how large your home-made portions are.
Now that’s what I call a fruit cake, My grandmother always made one for me when i visited, being a yorkshire lad. I’m 82 now and visited Kettlewell last year Keep up the good work