Muscovado Glazed Fruit Cake
Muscovado Glazed Fruit Cake

Muscovado Glazed Fruit Cake

This Creole inspired cake is a lovely twist on the classic fruit cake. Its rich flavour echoes the aromatic notes of dark muscovado sugar and uses a colourful mix of tropical fruits and nuts for decoration, ideal for both family and festive celebrations
NUTRITION INFORMATION

YIELDS

1 x 8" cake

PREPARATION

1 hour

COOKING

3.5 hs

INGREDIENTS

For the Cake

  • 250g Tate & Lyle Dark Muscovado Sugar
  • 6 tbsp light rum
  • 6 tbsp dark rum
  • 1 medium orange (juiced & zested)
  • 1½ tsp Angostura bitters
  • 1½ tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 rounded tbsp Tate & Lyle Dark Muscovado Sugar
  • 1½ rounded tsp ground allspice
  • 450g (1lb) raisins
  • 225g dried cranberries
  • 110g prunes (roughly chopped)
  • 50g glacé cherries (halved, rinsed, dried & finely chopped)
  • 110g chopped candied peel
  • 50g macadamia nuts or blanched almonds (roughly chopped)
  • 250g unsalted butter (at room temperature)
  • 250g self-raising flour
  • 5 large eggs
  • ½ level tsp salt

For feeding the cake

  • light or dark rum, about 225ml

For the topping – approximately

  • 75ml (3floz) water
  • 1½ tbsp light or dark rum
  • 75g Tate & Lyle Dark Muscovado Sugar
  • 225g mixture of dried fruits (halved prunes, pineapple, mango & cranberries)
  • 50g mixture of nuts (pecans, blanched whole almonds or macadamias)
Fairtrade Dark Muscovado

HOW TO MAKE THIS RECIPE

  1. Combine both rums, the orange juice and zest, Angostura bitters, vanilla, 1 tablespoon of Tate & Lyle Dark Muscovado Sugar and the allspice in a large saucepan, and shake to mix. Add the raisins, cranberries, prunes, cherries, candied peel and nuts. Stir, bring to just under the boil, then reduce the heat down to a simmer and gently cook for 5 minutes, stirring once or twice, until all the liquid has been absorbed and the fruit has plumped up. Leave to cool.
  2. Preheat the oven to 140°C/Fan120°, 275°F, Gas Mark 1.
  3. In a large mixing bowl, using a wooden spoon, cream together the butter and add the rest of the Tate & Lyle Dark Muscovado Sugar, then add the flour, eggs and salt and mix well until smooth.
  4. Spoon into the prepared cake tin, level the surface with the back of the spoon and make a gentle hollow in the middle which helps prevent the cake from peaking too much. Bake on the middle shelf for 3 hours, then cover with the parchment paper. Bake the cake for a further 30 minutes or until the centre springs back when lightly touched. 
  5. Cool the cake in its tin for 30 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to finish cooling and peel off the paper. If you have the time you can feed the cake with rum at intervals over a month to enrich it. Poke holes in the cake with a fine skewer or cocktail stick and then drip about 2 tablespoons of the rum over the top each time. Wrap in foil between feeding the cake and store in an airtight container.
  6. To decorate the cake, combine the water, rum and Tate & Lyle Dark Muscovado Sugar in a small pan set over a low heat. Stir until dissolved and then simmer for about 10-15 minutes until slightly syrupy. Generously brush this Tate & Lyle Dark Muscovado Sugar glaze over the top of the cake, arrange the fruit and nuts attractively on top, and brush these with the rest of the glaze. Leave to cool and store in an airtight container, where it will last for up to 3 months.

You will also need a 20cm diameter x 9cm deep (8”x3½”) round cake tin, greased and the base and sides lined with a double thickness of baking parchment, plus a double thick layer for covering the top. 

CHEF'S TIP

Rub the dried fruit in a little flour before putting it into the mix - this helps the fruit stick to the cake batter, preventing it from sinking.