Sloe gin and Walnut loaf from Delicious Magazine.

Sloe gin and Walnut loaf from Delicious Magazine.

I have made this rather yummy looking fruit cake from December's Delicious Magazine. It is now sitting under the bed in the spare room being fed with sloe gin once a week. The plan is to eat it on my birthday at the end of the month with my good friends Janie and Lesley.

Ingredients

1. 650g mix of sultanas, currants and raisins
2. 100g dried cherries
3. Zest and juice of 1 orange
4. 150ml sloe gin, plus extra for feeding
5. 225g unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
6. 250g soft light brown sugar
7. 1 tbsp black treacle
8. 4 medium free-range eggs, beaten
9. 250g plain flour
10. 2 tsp ground cinnamon
11. 2 tsp mixed spice
12. 100g walnuts, roughly chopped

Method

1. 1. Put all the dried fruit in a large bowl, then stir through the orange zest, juice and 150ml sloe gin. Cover and leave to soak overnight.
2. 2. Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/gas 4. Grease a 20cm round cake tin with butter, then line the base and sides with baking paper so it reaches 5cm above the tin. Line the outside of the tin with another tall piece of baking paper, securing with string. Set aside on a baking sheet.
3. 3. Using an electric hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar together in a large mixing bowl until fluffy and a pale toffee colour, then beat in the treacle. Add the beaten eggs, a little at a time, mixing well between each addition. Sift in the flour and spices, then stir to a smooth batter. Add the soaked fruit and any sloe gin left in the bowl, as well as the walnuts, stirring until combined.
4. 4. Scrape the batter into the cake tin, then level off with the back of a spoon. Bake for 75-90 minutes until firm to the touch. A skewer inserted into the middle should come out relatively clean, depending on how much fruit you hit when you stick it in. If it begins to look too dark, cover the top of the cake with baking paper.
5. 5. Remove the tin from the oven. Use a skewer to poke a few small holes in the top of the cake, then pour over 1 tbsp sloe gin. Once cool, remove the cake from the tin, wrap baking paper around it, then wrap in foil. Store in an airtight container.
6. 6. Feed the cake once a week by pouring over 1 tbsp sloe gin. The cake will keep, seemingly forever, although at a certain point it will become more sloe gin than cake!http://www.cakeoftheweek.net/p/baking-with-spirit.html