Recipe

Festive Candid Fruit Cake

All Recipes / Festive & Celebration / Baking

Festive candid fruit cake is a festive bake full of delightful deluxe glacé dried fruits, blending to a cake full of tropical flavours whilst being light in colour and texture. The perfect cake for those who seek a light baked fruit cake full of festive flavours. 

Link for JULES homemade marzipan – Homemade Marzipan

 

8-10 slices
24 hour soak + 30 mins prep
3½ hours
150ºC

Ingredients

  • Candid fruits
  • 110g dried sweet pears
    - roughly chopped
  • 110g glacé/dried pineapple
    - roughly chopped
  • 110g glacé cherries
    - rinsed, dried and finely chopped
  • 50g dried cranberries
    - roughly chopped
  • 50g crystallised ginger
    - finely chopped
  • Dried Fruits
  • 225g sultanas
  • 175g dried figs
    - roughly chopped
  • Other
  • 110g pecan nuts
    - roughly chopped
  • 3 tbsp brandy
    - or fresh juice lemon and orange
  • Cake
  • 225g unsalted butter
    - softened
  • 225g golden castor sugar
  • 4 eggs
    - beaten
  • 225g plain white flour
    - sifted
  • 50g ground almonds
  • 1 lemon
    - zest only
  • 1 orange
    - zest only
  • Decoration
  • 1 quantity of JULES homemade marzipan
    - see link above
  • 250g commercial white fondant icing
  • Festive ribbon
  • Festive decorations

Instructions

  • Prepare dried and candid fruits:
  • 01 Weigh out all the dried fruit, chopped cherries and mixed peel, place into a large bowl and add brandy or citrus juice. Stir well and cover with a tea towel or plastic wrap. Leave in a cool place for 24 hours.
  • Before baking prepare cake tin:
  • 02 Use a 20cm round or square cake tin, lined with double layers of non stick baking paper, including an extra round circle or square for the top, which has a small hole cut out at the centre the size of your thumb.
  • Make cake:
  • 03 In a separate bowl sieve flour and spices together. Leave aside. In a separate large bowl beat together the softened butter and sugar until thick and creamy. Add eggs 1 tbsp at a time and beat well into the creamed butter mixture. Now add in alternative amounts stir in the soaked dried fruits, nuts, sieved flour and ground almonds. Add zest of orange and lemon and mix well.
  • Assemble:
  • 04 Place the cake mixture into the prepared cake tin. Smooth the top, allowing a slight indentation in the middle and gently cover with the baking paper top, aligning the cut piece to sit centre.
  • Cook:
  • 05 Bake cake slowly on the middle shelf of your oven and after 3-3½ hours check cooked by placing a skewer into the middle of the cake. If cooked the skewer will come out clean, and if not, put back in the oven for another 15 minutes or so and check again. When cake is ready, remove from the oven and cover with a clean tea-towel and leave to cool in the tin.
  • Storage:
  • 06 When cold remove from tin, keeping original lining, wrap well in extra non-stick paper and several thick layers of newspaper. Store in a cool, dark place until required.
  • Decorate:
  • 07 Unwrap cake and place on a decorative cake board. Brush the cake all over with warm apricot jam. Cover with a thick layer of marzipan. Cover the top with a large white fondant star and decorate with festive ornaments. Finally wrap a festive ribbon all around the cake. Store in an airtight container until required.

Notes

Always top cake with a circular lid of double non-stick paper with a hole in the centre – allowing steam to escape, enhance even cooking and prevent burning. I recommend wrapping the cake in newspaper once baked, rather than foil, as this allows the cake to breathe whilst maturing and preventing ‘sweating’ which would end in a soggy wet cake.

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