Easter Fruit Cake Description/Notes: A simple fruit cake that needs no rubbing in or creaming. A great cut-and-come-again cake that keeps well in the baking tin if covered with foil. Ingredients: 14oz (400g) mixed dried fruit 6oz (150g) glace cherries (quartered) 4oz (100g) dates, chopped 4oz (100g) butter 6oz (150g) dark brown soft sugar half a tsp. of bicarbonate of soda 1 tsp. mixed spice half a pint (285ml milk) 12oz (350g) self raising flour pinch of salt 2 eggs, well beaten tbsp. apricot jam 8oz (225g) ready to roll white icing 9oz (250g) white marzipan a little icing sugar (sifted) 2-3 drops each of pink and green food colorings Cooking Instructions: Place the fruits, spice, sugar, milk and bicarbonate of soda into a large pan Bring to the boil then simmer for 5 minutes Allow to cool to blood-heat Sift the flower and salt and stir into mixture with the eggs Turn into a greased double-lined 8in (20cm) cake tin Smooth the surface and hollow out center slightly Heat oven to 325F, Gas Mark 3, 170C and bake cake in the center for 45 minutes then at 300F, Gas Mark 2, 150C for about a further 50 minutes To see if the cake is cooked a skewer pushed into the middle should come out clean Cool the cake in its tin then transfer to a wire rack and remove greaseproof paper Spread top of cake with jam Using a little icing sifted icing sugar , lightly knead the icing, then roll out to fit just inside cake top Trim round quarter inch (5mm) from the edge to allow for pink marzipan Cut marzipan into three pieces. Colour first piece pink and knead thoroughly Measure circumference of cake with string then roll pink marzipan by hand to the same length Lift on to cake, pressing neatly to the white icing edge then trim ends and join Colour second piece green, roll out to the same length. Roll out third piece likewise and twist them together Lay twist around cake, just inside pink roll then trim ends and join Tie a ribbon or fix a cake band around cake
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