DELICIOUS FRUIT CAKE RECIPES

Steps:

• Combine the dried fruit and candied peel in a large bowl. Add the 4 tbsp brandy and stir in to mix well. Cover and leave overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 140°C/fan120°C/gas 1. Put the remaining ingredients except the almonds in a large bowl. Beat with a hand-held electric mixer until well combined. Stir in the nuts and the soaked fruit with any soaking liquid.
• Grease a deep 23cm round tin or 20cm square cake tin with butter, line with a double layer of baking paper and grease the paper (see Golden Rules). Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin. Level the top and cover with a disc of baking paper.
• Bake for 4-5 hours until firm to the touch and a skewer pushed into the middle comes out clean. Leave the cake to cool in the tin.
• When the cake has cooled, remove the baking paper disc, pierce the top in several places with a skewer, then pour over a little brandy. Remove the cake from the tin but keep it in the baking paper. Wrap with more baking paper, then wrap with foil. Store in a cool place for up to 3 months to mature, occasionally unwrapping and spooning over 1-2 tbsp brandy.
• Decorate the cake with glacé fruit, marzipan or ready-to-use icing. Tie a ribbon around the cake if you like before serving. Recipe from Mary Berry’s Complete Cookbook (£25; Dorling Kindersley)

Steps:

• For the Cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (This Recipe uses the Reverse Creaming Method of Mixing.) Grease and flour two 8 x 2 inch round pans. In the bowl of your mixer add the dry ingredients, flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. In a separate bowl, add the eggs, orange juice concentrate, milk, orange extract and zest. With the mixer on low speed, add the slices of butter a few pieces at a time to the dry ingredients. Increase the mixer to medium speed and beat until the dry ingredients look crumbly and moistened. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl. SLOWLY add 1/2 of the egg mixture, increasing to medium speed for 1 1/2 minutes, the batter will become thick and fluffy. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl. Add a small amount of Orange Coloring Gel to the bowl if you would like the batter to be orange. Add the remaining egg mixture in 2 pourings, beating for 20 seconds after each addition. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with just a few crumbs attached. Let the cakes cool in the pan 10 minutes, then turn out. Works well for cupcakes. Makes 6 cups batter. For the Orange Cream Filling: Combine the pudding mix and heavy cream and orange extract in a mixing bowl. I prefer to mix with a hand held mixer, but a whisk is just fine too. If using a mixer, start on low speed until well combined. Then, switch to high speed and whip the pudding until thick and fluffy. If mousse is too thick, mix in small amounts of heavy cream to reach desired consistency. If mixing by hand, simply whisk rapidly for a couple of minutes or until mixture is nice and thick. Refrigerate until ready to use. Cakes with this filling should be chilled until close to serving time. For the Orange Cream Cheese Frosting: Cut the butter into slices and add to the bowl of your mixer. Beat on low to medium speed until the butter is softened and smooth. Cut the cold cream cheese into pieces and add to the butter, beating at low to medium speed until incorporated. Add the vanilla and orange flavorings. Gradually add the powdered sugar beating on low speed until blended. Cover the bowl with a towel to keep down the cloud of powdered sugar. Increase mixing speed and beat until fluffy. Don't over beat. This frosting will pipe best if used while still chilled. You can make it in advance, refrigerate and when ready to use let it soften slightly (do not microwave) and remix. Will frost a 3 layer 8 or 9 inch cake. When decorating our Dreamsicle Cake, we frosted our cake and then went back in with swirls of lightly tinted orange frosting for a pretty effect.