October 25, 2015

Daddy’s birthday 2015 | Buttery fruit cake

Happy birthday daddy! This perfectly describes how he continues to inspire me!
And he always is! 
 
In the past, I always used to purchase cakes because I did not trust my baking skills enough to be able to pull off a fancy cake for a special occasion. But this year, I’ve been a bit of an experimental baker so I thought I’d give it a go. 
 
I asked him what he wanted for his birthday. Initially, he said plain cake again (probably because he did not want to trouble me during my final days of thesis writing). After I pressed further, he gave me buttery fruit cake as an answer. 
 
I was happy with this because I had never baked one so it’d be fun to do one. I started my recipe hunt. Most traditional recipes use alcohol but because I don’t drink, I had to look harder to find one that didn’t so I could eat it too :D
 
Eventually I found this.
 
I’ve followed this recipe pretty closely with some little changes. Normally I would not use as much butter but I was determined to bake precisely what he wanted so I used the stated amount.
 
Ingredients
 
·        1/2 cup unsalted butter
·        1/2 cup dark brown sugar
·        1 large egg
·        3/4 cup mixed fruit ( I used dried pineapple, papaya, cranberries and sultanas)
·        1 tsp vanilla essence
·        1/4 cup almond flakes
·        1 cup wholemeal flour
·        1/4 tsp baking soda
·        1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
·        1/2 tsp salt
·        Juice and rind from 1 orange
·        2 tbsp skim milk
Method
1.       Juice an orange and make rind.
2.       Chop all fruits into small pieces and cover in orange juice. Soak for 30 mins.
3.       Combine the butter and brown sugar until fluffy.
4.       Add in the egg.
5.       Sift the flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt into a bowl.
6.       Fold in the fruits until each fruit is covered with flour.
7.       Combine dry and wet mixture.
8.       Add milk and almonds.
9.       Pour into round cake pan ( line the bottom with baking paper).
10.     Bake at 160C for 40-45 minutes.
11.     Remove the cake from oven, the skewer should come out clean.

12.     Decorate if you wish and enjoy!

 

 
Now I’m off to work on thesis. I’ll be away in hibernation over the next couple of days, it’s due in five days so it’s crunch time!
Hope you all have a great Sunday, enjoy the Sunshine!