Warm boot recommendations please

[Mrs Frugal]

Delia's Last-Minute Sherry Mincemeat Cake

 

Can be baked literally at the last minute!

 

 

Makes one 8 inch (20 cm) round cake

 

Ingredients

For the pre-soaking:

 

5 fl oz (150 ml) medium sherry

1 x 411 g jar mincemeat

4 oz (110 g) ready-to-eat prunes, roughly chopped

2 oz (50 g) glacé cherries, quartered

6 oz (175 g) dried mixed fruits

2 oz (50 g) whole candied peel, chopped

 

For the cake:

 

8 oz (225 g) wholemeal flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

5 oz (150 g) butter, softened

5 oz (150 g) dark brown soft sugar

grated zest 1 small orange

grated zest 1 small lemon

2 oz (50 g) brazil nuts, roughly chopped

2 oz (50 g) mixed chopped nuts

3 large eggs

 

For the topping:

 

approximately 18 walnut halves

approximately 18 pecan halves

approximately 23 whole brazils

1 heaped tablespoon sieved apricot jam

1 tablespoon brandy

 

Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 3, 325°F (170°C).

 

You will also need an 8 inch (20 cm) round cake tin, lightly greased, the base and sides lined with baking parchment.

 

Begin the cake a few hours before you want to make it and simply place all the pre-soaking ingredients into a bowl, stir really well, then cover with a cloth and leave in a cool place.

 

When you are ready to make the cake, take a roomy bowl and simply place the soaked ingredients, plus all the rest of the cake ingredients, in it, all in one go. Now, using an electric hand whisk , beat everything together as thoroughly as possible, which will probably take about 1 minute. Then pour it into the prepared tin, smooth the top and arrange the whole nuts in rows across the surface – one row of walnuts, one of brazils, one of pecans, and so on.

 

Finally, cover the top of the cake with a double circle of baking parchment with a hole the size of a 50p piece cut in the centre. Then place the cake on the centre shelf of the oven and bake it for 1¾-2 hours, or until the centre springs back when lightly touched. Then let it cool in the tin for 30 minutes before turning it out to finish cooling on a wire rack.

 

The finishing touch is to heat the apricot jam and brandy together and brush the nuts with the mixture to give them a lovely glaze. Store the cake in an airtight tin and it will keep beautifully moist for 3-4 weeks.