1 & 1/2 bags of mixed dried fruit. - 750g of dried fruit.
Add the beaten eggs and milk if making the GF version.
Beat well together.
Add the flour and spices.
Spoon into 7″ tin, lined with greaseproof paper. You can buy tin liners like this from Lakeland if you don’t live near Trago. The cost me £4.50 for 100.
Bake for two hours - I check mine after one hour. After removing it from the oven, leave to cool for an hour in the tin and then transfer to a cooling rack or plate to cool completely before storing.
This will last for ages, I think it could even make a good Christmas cake. It’s best eaten the day after you’ve made it. The condensed milk gives it a toffee like flavour and the fruit gives it a dense rich texture. It’s wonderful on a Sunday afternoon with a bit of cake. Keep it wrapped in foil or in an air tight tin and this will last all week even after being sliced.
I’m entering a baking competition soon, so you’ll see a few cakes as I practise. Now it’s your turn, what’s your favourite cake?
Until tomorrow,
Love Froogs xx
That looks lovely! I`ll copy this recipe to turn it into a Christmas cake, feeding the cooled cake with brandy or rum until X-mas.
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Nearly forgot to mention my favourite cake: it`s carrot and walnut cake with a layer of cream cheese frosting as well as the frosting on the top.
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That looks lovely! My favourite is a lemon drizzle.
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That looks lovely. Favourite cake in our household is beetroot and chocolate.
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Can I offer you you a 'cake related' frugal tip which will need to be adapted to suit individual circumstances? I used to have a combination conventional / microwave oven. The oven's recipe book suggested that when making a rich fruit cake with 4 hour conventional cooking time, the time could be cut drastically as the 'first half' of the cooking time cooks the outer, sets it and colors it. THe longer the cake is in the oven, the more likely it is burn, hence the usual practice of covering the outside with brown paper. The advice was to switch over to microwave for the latter part of the cooking, as microwaves are attracted to soft, liquid, consistency so this will ensure that the cake is set. I have used and adapted the principle to other cakes and other ovens, even if it means removing a cake from a conventional oven and putting it in the microwave. Rule of thumb - cook conventional for 'just over half time' once outside is firm and coloured, transfer to microwave and cook for say, one minute, test with fork in normal way until centre is cooked. I think I cut my rich fruit cake cooking time from 4 hrs conventional to 2 hrs 30 mins conv and 2-3 mins micro. the principle works with boiled fruit cakes too.
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I make a boiled fruit cake but use water instead of condensed milk and don't add the cherries. The receipe if from a BeRo baking book that was my mother's and is probably over 70 years old (I am 63). You could also use cold tea like they do in Wales to make Bara Brith.
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Another vote for Lemon Drizzle, although my Ma makes a mean boiled cake and keeps supplying all her boys (3 sons and 2 SIL) with boiled cake for their lunch boxes every so often. Yay for Mums!
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Looks lovely, I agree about mixed fruit being pricey too. Lots of places seem to have stopped their budget range. Lucy
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Carrot cake here, too, with the cream cheese icing . Yum! This one looks good, too though
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Ummmmmm, I LOVE fruit cake froogs, thank you for sharing this recipe.
Jacquie x
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What sort of cake tin do you use? Ceramic? This is a really interesting idea, can't wait to give it a try 🙂
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I have just gone and put my fruit in tea to soak overnight. I am looking forward to tomorrows 'elevenses' already. 🙂
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Favourite cake…ermmmm …eclairs, no no wait…swiss roll…no definitely Victoria Sandwich. Lemon Meringue Pie is a pie and not a cake, right? Ohhh Ginger Cake! Ginger Cake it is then. Hungry? Who me? I just scrolled up to look longingly at your cake again! Torture. Thanks for warning us about cake practice.
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I have been using the same chocolate cake recipe for years. It never fails, but I've noticed that baking chocolate has gotten very expensive. I found a different chocolate cake recipe that is similar to my standard recipe, only it calls for cocoa rather than baking chocolate, so I think I'm going to try it out the next time we need a cake.
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would this work if I substituted diced cooking apples and/or plums for some dried fruit. I sometimes get some free and already have stew mix in the freezer (for crumbles) and have made apple type cakes. I thought this might make an alternative use of the fruit. If not, have several lots of dried fruits of every variety in the cupboard to use up. x
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Thank you for posting the recipe, Froogs, it's just what I need. It looks wonderful and would be perfect for our Macmillans coffee morning next week and help me use up some of my supplies. I've had a tin of condensed milk I got reduced to 39p sitting on my kitchen shelf for ages. I'll need extra dried fruit but otherwise I have all the ingredients so it will be a cheap make.
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I've never tried a boiled fruit cake, thanks for the recipe.
You can by those cake liners from Home Bargains, way cheaper than Lakeland, they work just the same.
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I love the large papers you use to line your pans. I have never been able to find them in the US. Only cupcake liners. Guess I better start checking on the internet. Your cake looks wonderful.
Tana
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Is this condensed milk (we call it canned milk) or “sweetened” condensed milk? Sounds yummy, but I would have to add some walnuts or almonds.
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Yummy and Frugal-fabulous!
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it's naturally sweet, the lactose in milk is a sugar, if you boil it down further you'll have toffee fudge
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this will only work with dried fruit, it might be more of a pudding if not, however, nothing wrong with a pudding!!!!
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That is our favourite been making it for years and always as our Christmas Cake
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Your cake looks delicious. I think I will have to make it for snacking on. I just spent all morning making mincemeat. I made a combination recipe using one from Mary Berry and one from bbc good food. It uses no suet, butter instead, and has 10 different fruits in it. I hope it tastes good because it was a LOT of work to make 6 pint jars!
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I have just taken mine out of the oven and the whole house smells delicious! I didn't have quite enough fruit, so just used 600g, but topped it with blanched almonds, Dundee style. This recipe is the perfect quantity for my Grannie's old “ACME” brand cake tin.
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Haven't made that one for years, time to give it another go. You might be surprised to know that Waitrose own brand condensed milk is only £1 for a 397g tin.
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