Fruit Cake is a type of cake made with chopped candied fruit and/or dried fruit, nuts and spices, and generally soaked in spirits. Certain rich versions may be iced and decorated. They are often served in the celebration of weddings and Christmas.

 Fruit Cake Recipe

Ingredients
400g mixed dried fruit
150g glace cherries, quartered
100g dates, chopped
100g butter
150g dark brown soft sugar
Half a tsp. of bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp. mixed spice
285ml milk
350g self raising flour
Pinch of salt
2 eggs, well beaten
1 tbsp. apricot jam
225g ready to roll white icing
250g white marzipan
A little icing sugar, sifted
2-3 drops each of pink and green food colourings

Cooking Instructions
Combine the fruits,spice, sugar, milk and bicarbonate of soda into a large pan and bring to the boil, then simmer for 5 minutes. Let the mixture cool to blood-heat. Sift the flour and salt and stir into mixture with the eggs. Put all the mixture into a greased double-lined 20cm cake tin. Then smooth the surface and hollow out center slightly. First, heat the oven to 325F, Gas Mark 3, 170C and bake cake in the center for 45 minutes then at 300F, Gas Mark 2, 150C for about a further 50 minutes. Check whether the cake is cooked or not by pushing a skewer into the middle. It should come out clean.  Allow the cake to cool in its tin and then transfer to a wire rack and remove greaseproof paper. Spread jam on to the top of cake.
           
Using a little sifted icing sugar, lightly knead the icing, and then roll out to fit just inside cake top. Trim round quarter inch (5mm) from the edge to allow for pink marzipan. Cut marzipan into three pieces. Colour first piece pink and knead thoroughly. Measure circumference of cake with string then roll pink marzipan by hand to the same length. Lift on to cake, pressing neatly to the white icing edge then trim ends and join. Colour second piece green, roll out to the same length. Roll out third piece likewise and twist them together. Lay twist around cake, just inside pink roll then trim ends and join. Tie a ribbon or fix a cake band around cake.