Organic Christmas Cake

Instructions

Finely chop the figs and add to a large pan a long with the sultanas, prunes, cranberries and currants. Add the butter, brown sugar and 150ml of brandy and the juice and zest of an orange and lemon.

Place the pan on to the heat until the mixture begins to boil then lower the heat and allow to simmer for 5 minutes.

Alternatively, you can add the fruit and brandy to a covered mixing bowl and allow to soak over night.

Add the mixture to a large mixing bowl to cool. Preheat the oven to 150C or 130C for fan assisted ovens. Line a cake tin with baking paper and add a thick layer of newspaper around the outside of the tin and secure in place with string.

Combine the chopped almonds, flour, baking powder, mixed spice, ground cinnamon, ground cloves, nutmeg, eggs and vanilla extract to the fruit mixture. Make sure to mix thoroughly.

Add the mixture to the baking tin making sure to flatten the top with a spoon or spatula. Place in the middle of the preheated oven for 2 hours.

Carefully remove the cake from the oven and be sure to poke holes in to the cake using a skewer or knife. Add two tablespoons of the left over brandy on top of the cake and allow to cool.

Be sure to feed the cake two tablespoons of alcohol every two weeks. A week before you're ready to add your marzipan and icing make sure you do not feed the cake as the Christmas cake needs to be dry before icing.

Lightly dust icing sugar on to a clean work surface and roll the marzipan out until the thickness is around 5mm. Apply a thin layer of apricot jam to your cake using a knife and carefully place the marzipan on top. Trim the ends of the marzipan to fit the cake.

Allow the marzipan to dry for 1 to 2 days before adding the icing and decoration.

If you do not wish to add marzipan and icing to your festive cake, place whole almonds on top for decoration.