The year 2011 has been an interesting one for me when it comes to baking. I’ve swung wildly from being an almost frequent baker in 2010 to not baking for most of 2011. Work commitments, what can I say ?
Although I have taken a long hiatus from baking and blogging, I look forward to resume the baking journey, and I hope that you'll still be interested to read about it here.
To set things into motion, here's the sugee cake and fruit cake which I had recently baked for Chinese New Year. This time round, in addition to the family heirloom recipe for the fruit cake, I decided to try out another version from Donna Hay's Modern Classics 2. I'm glad to report that both versions were well received by family and friends.
Please refer here for the sugee cake recipe. Recipe for the fruit cake is as follows:
3 cups raisins
1 1/4 cups sultanas
3/4 cup currant (I used chopped apricots)
2/3 cup candied mixed peel
1 cup slivered almonds
3/4 cup chopped dates (I used prunes)
3/4 cup brandy or sherry (I used brandy)
250 g butter, at room temperature
1 cup brown sugar
4 large eggs
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour, sifted
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp all-spice (I omitted as I didn't have any on hand)
2-3 tbsp brandy or sherry (I used brandy)
Place dried fruits and nuts in a bowl and pour over the brandy. Cover and allow to macerate for at least 8 hours or overnight.
Preheat oven to 140 deg C. Beat butter and sugar until light and creamy. Gradually add the eggs and beat well. Place the butter mixture, soaked fruit mixture and the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl and stir to combine.
Line a 20cm square tin with 2-layers of parchment paper. Spoon in mixture and bake for 2 hours or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Pour over extra brandy while the cake is still hot. Cool in tin. When cool, wrapped cake tightly with aluminium foil. Cake can be kept for a long time in the fridge.
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