1 lb. 6 oz. currants
11 oz. stoned raisins
5 1/2 oz. mixed peel (candied)
1/3 lemon
1/2 tsp. ground mace
1 lb. 3 oz. flour
1 lb. sugar
3 tbsp. rum/brandy
11 oz. sultanes
1/2 lb. glace cherries
5 1/2 oz. wet almonds
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 pinch salt
1 lb. butter
8 lg. eggs
8 inch sq./round loose bottom cake tin

Wash and clean fruit, stone raisins if necessary, chop almonds, cut cherries in halves, chop mixed peel, grate lemon peel and strain the juice. In another large bowl sieve the flour, add salt, cinnamon and mace, stir in the prepared fruit, nuts, etc.

Cream butter until pale and fluffy, add the eggs beating each one in separately. Should the mixture curdle, mix in a little flour. Fold in the dry ingredients, adding the brandy or rum last. The finished cake mixture should be stiff and hard to mix together, but should just fall off your spoon when lifted up. If still too hard, add a little milk. A little caramel may be added here if you prefer a very dark cake when cooked.

Spoon into prepared tin, lined first with brown paper and then greased with greaseproof or baking parchment paper. Bake in a slow oven 300 to 325 degrees for approximately 5 - 5 1/2 hours, testing with a skewer in the center until it comes away clean. (If the top appears to be browning too quickly, a sheet of parchment on the top will protect it.)

Leave to cool completely before removing paper and wrapping cake once more and store in an airtight tin until it is time to put on the almond paste. Ideally, the cake should be cooked 3 months before it is needed.

The almond paste should be applied 2 weeks before and the icing one week before the day. The rum or brandy can be added after the cake has cooled (I prefer it that way - and err on the generous side when pouring it in - my hands usually shake a little!!) This cake will keep for 12 months in an airtight tin if you have the willpower!

ALMOND PASTE:

This can be bought in blocks ready made or you can make your own as follows: 1 lb. icing sugar 2 eggs 1 tsp. vanilla Juice of 1 lemon 1/2 tsp. vanilla or orange juice

Mix almonds and sugars together. Beat eggs lightly and add them with vanilla and lemon juice to dry ingredients. Mix to a paste and knead thoroughly.

To apply: As the top of the cake is rarely completely flat, we frequently turn it upside down and use the bottom as the top. Brush top and sides with sieved apricot jam (jelly to you!). Divide paste into 2 pieces, roll ball into a circle to cover the top (it should be about 1/4 - 1/2 inch thick). Place on cake, roll lightly or press gently with hands.

Measure girth of cake with piece of string, roll out two strips long enough to go halfway around it. Put strips on side, brushing joints with egg white. Smooth the sides by rolling a straight sided jar around it. Rewrap and return to airtight tin until time to ice.

ROYAL ICING OR BOUGHT ROLL ON ICING:

2 lb. icing sugar
3 or 4 egg whites
Coloring if required

Sieve sugar until lump free, beat egg whites lightly. Add whites gradually, stirring well, only sufficient to give a stiff but beatable mixture. Beat mixture thoroughly until the icing is quite smooth and glossy. Cover the surface of cake roughly, using a palette knife to begin to smooth it out all over top and sides.

Have a jug of very hot water - dip palette knife in to shake off drops and then smooth top and sides using big sweeping movements. Dip knife frequently into water but avoid getting the icing too wet. Any air bubbles should be pierced with darning needle/small skewer whilst icing is set. Keep a damp tea towel over the bowl with the icing in so it will not harden. When cake is smooth to your satisfaction, leave overnight to dry properly. If unhappy, a further coat could be added the next day although the icing does not usually need to be as thick as the almost paste as it is a really rich cake, but it is a matter of taste.