Rich Christmas Cake

A delicious and rich cake. It's easy to make -- and this cake will go fast!

Ingredients:
1 1/4 pounds) plain flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pound seedless raisins, cut in half
1 pound sultanas
1 pound mixed dried fruit
4 ounces crystallised cherries, cut into quarters
250 gr (8 ounces) mixed peel, cut small
Almonds, blanched and cut small
1 tesspoon mixed spice
Butter
500 gr castor sugar
10 eggs
2 tablespoons rum or brandy
grated rind of 1 orange
juice of 1 orange
grated rind of 1 lemon

Directions:
Prepare 2 deep 20cm (11-inch) cake pans by lining base and sides with three layers of ungreased brown paper. Allow paper around sides to rise 3-1/2 cm (about 2-1/4 inches) above rim of pan.

Sift flour onto large sheet of paper. Add salt, raisins, sultanas, dried fruit, cherries, peel, almonds, spice and nutmeg. In a bowl, cream butter and sugar until quite white and creamy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add rum or brandy slowly. Then add orange and lemon rind and then orange juice. Add dry ingredients and mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon. Put mixture into prepared tins.

Dip you hand in water and pat over surface of cakes. (This will keep the cakes flat while baking and give a finish.) Bake very slowly at 150 C (300 degrees F) for 1-3/4 hours. Test by inserting skewer after 1-1/2 hours, if it comes out clean the cake is cooked.

Note: These can be made and frozen to keep longer.

Prep time: 10 minutes

Serves 5

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Recipe submitted by: quietchef - Food 4 Thought http://pages.about.com/food4thought/index.html