I cant cook but would like a really easy fruit cake recipe please.....

[drinkmoretea]

If anyone can help I would be sooo pleased!
Thank you xx

What kind of fruit cake are you after? A rich dark Christmassy one, or a lighter one? Fruit cakes are good if you have little cooking confidence as they aren't supposed to be as light as air or anything fancy!
I have a lovely recipe where you boil the fruit in Guinness first!

I've got a recipe where you boil all the fruit in the contents of tin of shredded pineapple pulp. Tis yummy.

This is one mum's Grandma made and every generation since. If I can do it it must be easy. It makes a fairly light family cake in a loaf tin

8 oz SR flour
4 oz butter
4oz sugar
1 egg
6 tablespoons milk
8oz fruit

rub together flour and butter
Add sugar and fruit & mix
Add egg and milk and mix
gas mark 4/180 dgrees for c. 1hour, until skewer comes out clean.

I usually double the quantity and make 2, as it will keep in a tin for at least 2 weeks - given a chance

Hi, Thanks for your replies.

Yorky, I'm after a lighter fruit cake, guinness in it sounds interesting!

ppw, can you make it in a round tin? (can you tell I dont bake!? )

please keep the recipes coming!!

mine is nearly the same as perpetual's but the method is easier - it's from an ancient Stork cookbook and is meant to be made with soft marg so doesn't need rubbing in:

8oz self-raising flour
pinch salt
4oz sugar
6oz dried fruit
4oz marg/butter
2 eggs
6 tablespoons milk

mix everything together
8" round tin
gas 4 50-60 min (knife should come out clean)

Put 6oz butter, 1lb dried fruit, zest and juice of 1 orange, 6oz light brown sugar, 7floz Guinness in a large pan, bring to boil slowly stirring till butter melts, then simmer for 15 mins. Cool for 10 mins hen add 1 teaspoon bicarb, it will foam up then calm down again. Add 3 beaten eggs to the mixture. Then add 10 oz plain flour and 2 teaspoons mixed spice (you're supposed to sift them but I never have!) Mix well and pour into 8" round tin (greased and lined) and sprinkle dem sugar and flaked almonds over the top. Bake for 1hr15-30 at 150* or gas 2. Cool for 15 mins in tin then turn onto cooling rack.
Nice and not a complicated as it sounds.

I've never made in a round tin, but as quantities are much the same as Mrs Badger, I would think a 8" round tin would be fine. Needs to be a deep tin not a sandwich tin though.

I love the fact that although imperial weights haven't been taught in schools for at least 30 years, these are all in oz

Try this, so easy even I can make it and it's very tasty.

2 crushed Weetabix
1 cup of sultanas
2 cups of Self raising flour
1 cup of sugar

Mix these dry ingredients together, then add

1 cup of milk and a teaspoon of mixed spice

Stir again and pour the mix into a greased loaf tin, bake at 325 degrees for about 45 mins.

they are all in oz and gas marks because we have all stolen them from our mum's recipe files...

(personally I like cooking in imperial because the numbers are smaller hence seem less intimidating )

Love the Weetabix cake - really tasty!

I would recommend a boiled fruit cake - you don't have to do much and the dried fruit gets nice and juicy when it is boiled.

350 g mixed dried fruit (sultanas, raisins, currants, glace cherries, chopped dried apricot - whatever you have in stock)
110 g margarine/butter
110 g sugar (brown for preference)
225 g self raising flour
150 ml water
2 eggs (medium or large)- beaten
1 level tsp mixed spice
Put fruit, margarine, sugar and water in large saucepan and bring to simmer, stirring occasionally. Simmer for 20 mins stirring from time to time and allow to cool for half to one hour.
Meanwhile, grease and line a 18 cm (7" round cake tin). Heat oven to 170 Degrees C (Gas 3)
Add the sifted flour, spice and eggs to fruit mixture in pan and mix thoroughly.
Pour into baking tin. Place tin in middle of oven. After half an hour, reduce heat to 150 Degrees C (Gas 2) and bake for a further 90 minutes (test after an hour to see how cooked it is).

Are you an undercover MSEer, Smithy?

I love making (and eating!) fruit cakes and someone recently gave me this recipe which I've found really easy. It uses low fat spread and "half sugar" sugar but I'm sure it would be equally gorgeous with butter and proper sugar.

115g/4oz low fat spread (I used lurpak light)
50g/2oz silver spoon Half Spoon
2 eggs, beaten
2 apples - peeled and grated
350g/12oz mixd dried fruit
225g/8oz SR flour
2 tsps mixed spice
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Pre heat oven to 180 C gas mark 2. Grease and line 20cm/8" round tin or 2lb loaf tin

Cream together butter and sugar, gradually mix in eggs and then apples, dried fruit, flour and spices.

Transfer into tin and bake for 1 -1.5 hours.

Really lovely cake - the apple helps moisten it and the spices give it loads of flavour

I remember bringing a recipe home from school so I knew what to bring to next weeks lesson less than thirty years ago and my Mum laughing cos all the measurements were in old money!
Have to try weetabix cake, never heard of it before and must be easier for kids to help with than a boiled fruit one, which is all the Guinness cake is. Thinking about it, it could be quite interesting to use cider and dried apples/cranberries and see what happens - never follow a recipe properly if I can help it!

PS CSB whats 325 in gas, I'm still getting used to oven in new quarter.

I must try the weetabix cake - no fat !!??

I think around 180, Yorky.

You can use mixed peel or cherries or something if you fancied it but sultanas is best I think.