Most rich fruit cakes need a few weeks to mature before they are at their best, so usually a degree of planning and organisation is needed. I'm not always this efficient, and sometimes a rich fruit cake is needed right away. This recipe makes a cake that is ready to eat when it has cooled, but equally, can be brandy soaked and matured in the traditional manner. It is also very, very easy to make, little measuring and absolutely no curdling batter.
Choose your cake tin carefully, the cake does not rise, so the mixture needs to almost fill the tin to get a good shaped cake.
For economy, (and because I don't like mixed peel!) I use only 'value' sultanas from the supermarket, not a mixture of fruit.
To easily measure out the treacle without having messy trails, first heat the tablespoon under very hot water before scooping up the spoonful from the tin.