Excue the delay, have dug out my books, made my mincemeat and now can give you the recipe for Black cake
First marinate the fruit
250g raisins
250g prunes
250g currents
250g natural coloured glace cherries
165g mixed peel (the real thing, not chopped stuff in tubs - says Nigella!! I used chopped stuf from tub!)
1/2 bottle madeira
1/2 bottle dark rum
Chop all fruit in food processor (slowly otherwise you get a puree), put nto big plastic tub with lid, pour over alcohol and mix.
Leave to steep for a min of 2 weeks. I left mne 13 months!!
Now for the main recipe!!
250g soft unsalted butter
250g dark muscaovado sugar
1/2 the fruit mixture
1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
1/4 teasp freashly ground nutmeg
1/4 teasp ground cinnamon
6 large eggs
275g plan flour
1 1/2 teasp baking powder
125g black treacle
deep 23cm cake tin, lined. Nigella says to double line wth brown paper first, then with baking parchment, both to come up 10 cm above tin. This is a pain to do, I used double thickness of baking parchment whch dd the trick OK
Oven 180 or gas 4
Cream butter and sugar, beat in fruit. Add vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon, and beat in eggs. Stir in flour and black treacle. Batter is dark brown.
Pour into tin and cook for 1hour, turn oven down to 17 or gas 3 and cook for another 2 1/2 - 3 hours. Remove to wire rack, but don't unmold until cold.
Ice as you want or not!!