Do you own a copy of Mrs Beeton's cookery book?

[DumbledoresGirl]

If so, could you tell me if there is a recipe for a rich fruit cake? Note I specify rich fruit cake, as opposed to an ordinary fruit cake or any other sort of fruit cake. I am after this recipe (if it exists) as my mother said she liked it and I am charged with making her 50th wedding anniversary cake.

Thanks.

It's a lot to type out, what size do you want? It has a chart for:

6in round/5 in squer
7/6in
8/7in
9/8

etc so: round or square, and how many inches then I can give quantities. Recipe coming up...

Oh well done zoec, I was just about to volunteer to photocopy it after seeing the length

Set the oven at 150C/300F/Gas 2. Line and grease the appropriate tin. Mix the currants, raisins and sultanas. Cream the butter and sugar with the lemon rind until very soft. Beat in the almonds and the citrus peel. Wash and dry the cherries, then roughly chop them and toss them with a little of the measured flour. Sift the remaining flour with the spice and toss a little with the mixed dried fruit. Beat the eggs and treacle into the creamed mixture, adding a spoonful of the flour occasionally to prevent the mixture curdling. Fold in the remaining flour. Lastly fold in the fruit and the cherries.

Turn the mixture into the tin and smooth the top with the back of a wetted metal spoon, hollowing out the centre slightly. The cooking time depends on the size of the cake. The small cakes will take about 1.5-2 hours, the cakes of between 8-9 inches about 4-5 hours and the larger cakes about 7-8 hours. Insert a clean metal skewer into the centre of the cake to test if it is cooked: it should come out clean when the cake is ready. If there is any sticky mixture on the skewer the cake is not cooked.

Leave the cake to cool in the tin for at least an hour, then transfer it to a wire rack to cool completely. Do not remove the lining paper. Wrap the cake, still in the lining paper, in fresh greaseproof paper and store it in an airtight tin.

I'll come back with quantities when you know what size

Oh gosh, it really exists does it? My mother had a bad stroke a couple of years ago and sometimes you have to take what she says with a pinch of salt...

I am not sure about tin size. I will need to buy a tin before I can start. But it is only for the immediate family (7 adults and 6 children - half of whom won't eat it) so I should imagine 7 or 8 inch round tin.

you couldn't write out all the quantities could you, just in case I have to use a different size?

Any idea how far in advance it should be made?

And when I should marzipan and ice it?

Thank you so much.

Thinking fast: 7 inch round tin would not be big enough for decorations. Make that an 8 inch cake minimum, possibly 9 inch ...

AAARRRGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!

7 inch round/8 inch round/9 in

Currants 10oz (plus 4oz each extra inch)
Raisins 5oz (plus 2oz each extra inch)
sultanas 5oz (plus 2oz...)
Butter, softened 5oz (plus 2oz...)
Moist dark brown sugar 5oz (plus 2oz...)
Lemon, grated rind of 0.5/1/1
Shelled almonds 1oz/1.5oz/2.5oz
Chopped citrus peel 1oz/1.5oz/2.5oz
Glace cherries 2oz/3oz/3.5oz
Plain flour 5oz (plus 2oz...)
Ground mixed spice 0.5tsp/0.5tsp/1tsp
Beaten eggs 2/3/4
Black treacle 2tsp/1tbsp/1tbsp

Portion guide:

7 inch round: 30
8 inch round: 40
9 inch round: 58

They store for AGES. We used our wedding spare tier for dd1's first birthday and that was 3 years later . Just had to get it re-marzipanned and iced.

Marzipan and icing would be done during the week you need it really.

Hope the ingredient list makes sense btw, ask if you're not sure. I'd hate to be the cause of your cake going wrong!

That is great thanks. Those portion guides seem a bit astonishing. I know we are not talking about a sponge cake here, but 30 portions from a 7 inch cake?????? I don't think we are talking DG's family's portions!

I did think that about the portion sizes tbh, think it'd be more like the tiny bits of cake you get from kids parties!