RICH FRUIT CAKE (with whiskey)

350g/12oz sultanas

225g/8oz raisins

115g/4oz currants

115g/4oz chopped dried apricots

175g/6oz dates

115g/4oz cherries, halved

115g/4oz walnuts, chopped

115g/4oz whole candied peel, chopped (I prefer to use mixed colours)

50g/2oz crystallised ginger, roughly chopped

1 small cooking apple, grated, added after soaking fruit

275g/10oz butter

275g/10oz soft brown sugar

350g/12oz plain flour

5 eggs - lightly beaten

50g/2oz ground almonds

1 level tsp. ground cinnamon

1 level tsp ground mixed spice

1 level tsp. grated nutmeg

1 dessert spoon glycerine (for easy cutting)

1. Line a 230cm/9" deep round cake tin. Sift spices into flour - add ground almonds.
2. Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add lightly beaten eggs a little at a time. Fold in flour mixture and soaked fruit into creamed butter & sugar in alternate batches - do not beat. Add glycerine.
3. Fill prepared cake tin to ¾ from top of tin.
4. Cook in preheated oven. Gas 2 or 300oF/150 oC for 1 hr then reduce temperature to Gas 1 or 275 oF/140 oC - 1 hr to 1½ hrs more depending on oven lower the oven temperature if you think necessary.
5. After cooking leave to cool completely - in tin. When cold wrap in two layers of greaseproof paper then wrap in a tea towel or brown paper.
6. Leave to mature, feed weekly with whisky.
7. After maturing, the cake can be glazed with a mixture of boiled apricot jam and 2tsp. of water (bring to the boil and sieve.)
8. The cake can be iced - or decorated with nuts and cherries before baking.