English Fruit Cake

Ingredients

• 450 g butter
• 450 g light brown sugar
• 9 eggs
• 450 g flour
• 2 tsp mace
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp soda
• 2 tbsp milk
• 1350 g currants
• 900 g raisins, seeded and finely chopped
• 225 g almonds, blanched and shredded
• 450 g citron, thinly sliced and cut in strips

Method

Cream the butter and light brown sugar together for a full eight minutes on medium-high speed until the mixture is pale, voluminous, and noticeably lighter than when you started. This creaming process incorporates air into the fat, which traps gas bubbles that expand during baking and give the cake its characteristic crumb. Separate your eggs carefully — even a trace of yolk in the whites will prevent them from reaching full volume. Beat the yolks alone until they thicken and pale to a lemon colour, roughly three minutes. This emulsification strengthens their ability to hold moisture in the finished cake. Whisk the whites separately to stiff, dry peaks; they should not slip when you invert the bowl.

Fold the beaten whites into the creamed butter and sugar in two additions, using a spatula and turning the bowl rather than stirring. Stir in the milk, then sift the flour with the mace, cinnamon, and soda. Fold this dry mixture in gently — overworking develops gluten, which tightens the crumb. Fold in the currants, chopped raisins, almonds, and citron peel, distributing them evenly. The volume is substantial; do not be tempted to force it.

Butter a deep cake tin or steamer mould and line the base with buttered paper. Transfer the batter and smooth the top. Cover the tin with a layer of buttered paper tied with string to seal steam inside. Place the tin in a large pot with 5 centimetres of simmering water surrounding it. Steam for three hours, checking that the water level does not drop — top up if needed. The steam keeps the outside from drying before the centre cooks through; a baking|baked cake of this density and fruit-load would dry out.

After steaming, transfer the tin to the oven at 150°C. Bake for ninety minutes to one hour forty-five minutes, until a skewer pushed to the centre comes out with only a few moist crumbs clinging to it. The oven dries the surface and deepens the dried-fruit|fruit flavour through gentle caramelisation. Cool in the tin for twenty minutes, then turn out onto a rack. This cake improves with age — wrap it in baking parchment and store it in an airtight tin for at least a week before serving, allowing the moisture from the fruit to distribute evenly throughout the crumb.