Perfect Fruit Cake

It's easy to make a perfect, moist fruit cake. This cake can be made with or without alcohol and you can choose the types of dried fruit you prefer. I like to use a semi dried fruit rather than something that has been too dessicated. It makes for a much tastier, moist cake. Also, I always use butter not artificial spreads and use less flour and sugar than most recipies would tell you to use.
For this cake (pictured) I marinated the dried fruit in whisky for 2 weeks before using.

Ingredients
170g butter
140g brown sugar
75g chopped walnuts
440g mixed dried cherries and dates
50g sultanas
1tsp baking powder
200-225g plain flour
3 large eggs - beaten
whisky to personal taste

Method

Preheat your oven to 170C, do not use fan assist for cake baking. Line a 16cm springform cake tin and set aside.

If you have one, use an electric whisk to cream your butter and sugar together, if not put effort into creaming them together as the more you beat them the lighter your finished cake. Slowly add the beaten eggs to the butter/sugar mix and incorporate well. Don't worry too much if the mix seems to curdle, you can add a spoonful of flour and mix that in. 

Now add the walnuts and all the dried fruits and mix them well into the butter, sugar, egg mix.

Add the tsp of baking powder and using a metal spoon, fold in the plain flour. Keep folding until all the flour is fully mixed into the wet mix.

Put the mix into your cake tin and bake for one hour without opening the oven. Check the cake with a metal skewer, if the skewer comes out clean the cake is done (depending on your oven, it may be cooked or may need between 5 and 20 minutes more).  After the first hour keep checking the cake every 5 minutes if it seems nearly cooked or after 15 minutes if the skewer is still quite covered in mix. Many recipies give a cook time of 2 hours or more, this is usually far too long and creates a dry cake.

Once the cake is cooked, leave it for a few minutes in the tin then turn out onto a cooling rack and if you are using alcohol, pour 2 tblsp of whisky over your cake while it is hot. Once it's completely cold wrap it in foil and set aside (if you can bear to not eat it!) for 2 or more weeks.

Enjoy