a very macro christmas cake

It's time to start thinking all things Christmas. What better way to begin than with making your very own fruit cake. It's easy to do and really is a lovely gift to give when entertaining or visiting friends and family. Remember, fruit cake lasts for months and months when stored correctly. This recipe creates a 2.25 kg Christmas cake to be enjoyed by one and all.

Preparing your tin...

3. Place your square tin in the center (as shown by dotted line above)

4. Take corners A and B bringing them towards each other and staple them loosely together. Remember this will sit over the top of the tin, like the lid of a shoe box. It does not need to be a firm fit.

Making your cake...

Ingredients (choose organic ingredients wherever possible...)
 
500g dried raisins
250g dried sultanas
250g  dried currants
4 tbs Macro organic orange marmalade
120ml Papayo organic spiced rum
or 1/2 cup brandy
3 tbs extra rum/brandy
250g organic white flour (or spelt)
pinch of salt
250g unsalted organic butter
250g raw brown sugar
4 large organic eggs
50g slivered almonds
50g chopped pecan nuts
1 tsp lemon rind
1 tsp orange rind
1.5 - 2 tsp Herbies fragrant sweet spices with rose petals, or 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg and 1 tsp mixed spice
2 tsp organic maple syrup

Method

1.    Add all the dried fruit and marmalade to a very large mixing bowl. Pour the rum over the fruit and combine well. Allow to stand for 24 hours or at least overnight.
2.    Prepare your tin
3.    Pre-heat the oven to 140˚C (Conventional setting)
4.    Sift the flours and spices
5.    Cream the softened butter, sugar and maple syrup until light and fluffy (4-5 mins).
6.    Add the lemon and orange rinds
7.    Add each egg, one at a time, combining well after each addition
8.    Transfer this mixture to a very large mixing bowl. Slowly incorporate the nuts, salt, flour and fruit mixture until well combined. The mixture is
9.    Slowly add the flour and salt into the mixture followed by the nuts and fruit mixture. The mixture is very thick at this stage.
10.    Scoop the mixture into the prepared tin (follow instructions for preparing the tin). Bang the tin on the bench to fill any air pockets and smooth the top of the cake using a spatula. Cover the outside of the tin with 2 layers of baking paper (as per instructions for preparing the tin). This prevents the cake from burning and drying out.
11.    Bake for 4 hours and test with a skewer. Slowly pour the extra rum/brandy over the top of the hot cake and cover with a tea towel. Allow to cool, overnight in the tin.

Storage tip
Remove the cake from the tin. Wrap with a large layer of greaseproof paper
and store in a sealed tin or container.