Christmas fruit cake

big, beautiful, cake jam-packed with fruit, with a subtle hint of whisky. Some people like to brush the cake with whisky as soon as it comes from the oven, or to pierce the top with small holes and pour whisky over it to soak into the cake, but I find this cake is moist enough, and besides, I prefer my whisky in a glass. To fit one 23 cm (9in) round or 20 cm (8in) square cake tin.

Feeds 10

• 400 g sultanas
• 300 g currants
• 200 g raisins
• 100 g glace cherries, halved
• 100 g mixed peel
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp orange juice
• 125 ml whisky or dark rum
• 225 g butter
• 225 g soft dark brown sugar
• 1 tbsp finely grated lemon rind
• 1 tbsp finely grated orange rind
• 2 tbsp orange marmalade
• 4 eggs, lightly beaten
• 300 g plain flour
• 2 tsp mixed spice
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• half tsp grated nutmeg
• pinch of salt
• 100g blanched almonds

1. Combine the sultanas, currants, raisins, glace cherries and mixed peel in a large bowl, and add the lemon juice, orange juice, whisky or rum. Leave overnight in a cool place.
   
   
2. Heat the oven to 140C. Line the base and sides of a 23 cm (9in) round cake tin with a double thickness of greaseproof paper or baking parchment.
   
   Beat the butter and sugar together until smooth. Beat in the orange and lemon rind and marmalade. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Sift together the plain flour, mixed spice, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt, and add alternately to the mixture with the fruit ( if the fruit hasn't completely soaked up the liquid, drain it first). Mix well, pour into the cake tin and level off the top. Bang the tin on the bench once, to settle the contents.
   
   
3. Decorate with blanched almonds, settling them lightly on top. Wrap a double thickness of greaseproof paper around the tin, making sure it rises 10 cm above the top of the rim, and secure with string, to help prevent the edges from burning. Place on the lower shelf of the oven so that the top of the cake is virtually the middle, and bake for 1 hour, then cover with a loose sheet of foil, and bake for a further 3 hours, or until an inserted skewer comes out clean.
   
   
4. Wrap the cake, still in its tin, with two thicknesses of foil, and leave to cool overnight. Remove from the tin, and wrap the cake in 2 layers of plastic film or greaseproof paper, and store in an airtight tin for up to two months.
   
   Note: If you wish to ice the cake, don't decorate with blanched almonds.