Pumpkin and Apricot Fruit Cake

Boiled fruit cakes are a great standby to have on hand in case of people dropping in for a cuppa without much warning or if you are busy and won't have time to do much cooking. They take a little while to make, however they are very simple to do. I think it is a good idea to have a boiled fruit cake recipe in your cooking repertoire when planning ahead for morning and afternoon teas, or homemade lunchbox treats etc.

This one is based on the pumpkin fruit cake my Mum used to make. I've increased the amount of  mixed fruit and added a cup of Apricot Nectar, a tip I saw on the back of a Sunbeam mixed fruit packet, resulting in a very moist cake which cuts beautifully. I buy the most economical mixed fruit available, preferably one with glace cherries in it though. A can of Apricot Nectar contains two cups of nectar so it is cost effective for me to make two cakes at the same time. I really enjoy baking a fruit cake in Winter, with the delicious and nostalgic aromas wafting through the house and the oven warming up the kitchen.

Ingredients:

500g (16 oz.) dried Mixed Fruit ( or include 125g. (4 oz.) each of sultanas, chopped dates,and chopped raisins in the 500g.)
1 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon golden syrup
125g (4 oz.) butter, chopped
1 cup Apricot Nectar
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup Plain flour, sifted
1 cup Self Raising flour, sifted
1 cup well drained cooked pumpkin, mashed and cold (I cook this the day before and refrigerate)

Let's cook:

Grease and line a 20cm round cake tin

Place the mixed fruit, sugar, syrup, butter, and apricot nectar in a large saucepan.

Bring to the boil, stirring continuously, and then simmer gently for 10 minutes.This will plump up the fruit beautifully.

Remove saucepan from the heat and add the bicarbonate of soda.  The mixture will froth up. Keep stirring gently until the frothing dies down. If it doesn't froth up, it means the bicarb of soda is probably stale and won't work properly.

Allow the mixture to cool.

At this stage preheat your oven to 160 degrees F.

When mixture has cooled, add the cold pumpkin and then the eggs and beat in gently until mixture is smooth.

Then add the flours and mix well to combine.

Place the mixture in the cake tin and bake for 90 minutes. Insert a skewer into the cake to check it is cooked. It will come out clean if the cake is cooked.

Original Pumpkin Fruit Cake recipe. Mum always used Fairy Cooking Margarine, much cheaper, and the results were still delicious.

Thanks for dropping by.

Warm wishes

Pauline