Lafrance Flour Colonial Fruit Cake Food

LAFRANCE FLOUR COLONIAL FRUIT CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Sift and measure flour. Then sift four times. Wash currants and raisins and dry on clean cloth. Blanch almonds, peel, dry on clean cloth and chop. Slightly chop all other fruits and nuts, then pour all these ingredients onto a well-floured boare and sprinkle the spices over them. Wash your hands, roll them around on floured board until all are evenly coated in flour. Cream sugar and butter, then add beaten eggs and beat until mixture is smooth. Dissolve baking soda in coffee and blend with molasses; add to creamed mixture and beat well. Add fruits, salt, lemon and orange juice and rind. Cut in flour, pour into large oilpaper-lined (parchment paper) pan. Bake in a 300 degree oven for 3 hours.

THE ULTIMATE CLASSIC FRUIT CAKE

Steps:

• Place raisins in a bowl. Add enough grand Marnier/Cointreau to cover them. Cover bowl and leave for 24 hours.
• Preheat oven to 150°C.
• In a large bowl, using a wooden spoon, cream together the butter and sugar.
• Add the eggs one at a time. If mixture looks a bit like splitting, add a little flour.
• Add sifted flour, mixed spice, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice and Grand Marnier. Mix together.
• Gently fold in soaked raisins, dried chopped apricots, sultanas, chopped peel, cherries, walnuts and hazelnuts.
• Spoon the cake mix into 2 greased and lined 22cm spring form tins.
• Bake cakes for 2 1/2 hours to 3 hours.
• Remove and cool on wire rack. Once cool spray with more alcohol and wrap in cling film. Keep cakes in cool dry place until you ice/decorate them.
• ICING: Gently heat jam until spreadable. Spread over top and edges of cake.
• Roll out marzipan very thinly to the circumference of cake, also a strip around width of cake.
• Place marzipan on cake-gently pinch strip around top and side to stick them together. Repeat this with the icing. Mix together icing sugar, egg white and a few drops of food colouring into a smooth paste. Put into icing bag and decorate as desired.