Tea & Fruit Cake

I have been using this fruit cake recipe for so many years that I long ago stopped weighing the ingredients. Instead I have a particular mug (which my sister gave me 30+ years ago) and a bowl into which I measure the ingredients.

I know that may sound strange but it works beautifully and it also means you just need to pack the mug, the bowl and a cake tin to be able to make the cake away from home. The mug I use holds 250ml of water and the bowl holds 1 pint.

It is a very, very easy recipe. The texture of the cake varies depending on the flour used and how long the fruit has soaked. I made the cake pictured using spelt flour so only left the fruit soaking for about 6 hours.  The remaining tea which hadn't been absorbed helped to keep the cake moist.

MAKES: A 2 lb fruit cake - around 10-12 slices.

Time needed: 6-18 hours to soak the fruit + 1 hour (approximately) to bake.

Family verdict:
Drew: 'Love it. Perfect with a cup of tea. You can make it as many times as you want!'
Harry: 'Delicious.'
Robbie: 'Phenomenal.'

INGREDIENTS 

1 pint bowl filled to the top with dried fruit
1 teabag + boiling water
2 mugs of spelt or any other flour
1 tbs baking powder
1 mug of unrefined brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 egg

METHOD

1. Boil the kettle. Put the tea bag in the bottom of the 1 pint bowl. Fill the bowl up to the top with dried fruit and pour the boiling water on top, covering the all of the fruit if you can.
2. Leave the fruit to soak for at least 6 hours. Overnight works well, but probably best not to leave it for more than around 18 hours.
3. Heat the oven to 150 C/Gas Mark 3. Grease a 2 lb cake tin, either a loaf tin or a round cake tin.
4. Measure 2 mugs of flour into a mixing bowl. Add 1 mug of sugar, 1 tbs baking powder, 1/2 tsp ginger and 1/2 tsp cinnamon. Tip the fruit and any remaining tea (but not the tea bag!) on top. Mix well with a wooden spoon.
5. Break the egg into a cup. Beat lightly with a fork then add to the other ingredients. Mix thoroughly.
6. Tip the cake mix into the baking tin. Bake in the bottom half of the oven for at least an hour. The exact cooking time will depend on a number of factors, including the ingredients you have chosen and your oven's temperament. Be warned: the aroma of this baking will make everyone in the house feel hungry!
7. To test whether the cake is cooked, insert a thin skewer into the middle. If it comes out clean, the cake is cooked. If it has a lot of sticky cake mix on it, the cake needs longer.
8. Leave the cake to cool completely in the tin and then run a knife around the edges before turning the cake out. It should keep for quite a few days wrapped in foil and/or in an airtight tin. However, it generally doesn't hang around for too long.