A Boozy Fruit Bundt

When Victorian week came on The Great British Bake Off, I had wanted so badly to make the Charlotte Russe. But being back at college, starting my Masters has left very little time for fiddly bits baking. Which saddens me in many respects as you all know I love to doss about baking up a storm.

But it did mean that I got to research some very delicious recipes that Mrs Patmore herself would have been proud of. Fruit Cake and jelly molds were de rigeur at tea parties and celebrations in the Victorian era and while I still pine a little for the time I didn't have to bake the Charlotte Russe I am very happy with this attempt.

It is a boozy baked bundt, with all the trimmings. It has that old world taste. The kind of taste that would develop and become even better, if fed, over time. It's essentially a lighter version of a Christmas cake, more of an afternoon tea kind of cake, or something had after supper in the evenings. I'm not sure it's up to the Lady of the House's standard but it would certainly have done us folk in the kitchen no harm! It's soft and moist and packed with deliciously plumped up fruit.

It feels wholesome.

The Boozy Fruit 

The night before you decide to make your cake add the following ingredients into a bowl (preferably with a lid) and just leave it out at room temperature.

350g raisins
150g sultanas
50g mixed peel
200ml of whiskey
juice and zest of one large orange 

Mix the whole lot up into a bowl and pop the lid on. If your bowl doesn't have a lid, cover over the container with some clingfilm and leave it out on the counter to settle and plump over night. A good 12-16 hours is perfectly fine. 

The Cake

Being very honest here, this recipe did not yield as much as I would have liked it to have for my size bundt. I should have doubled the recipe. But it'll make up perfect in an 8 inch round or under.

150g soft salted butter
100g light brown sugar

50g caster sugar
2 large eggs at room temperature
2 tbsp golden syrup
160g cream/plain flour
85g ground almonds

1 tsp baking powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat your oven to 150C, 300F or gas mark 2 and fix the bottom shelf on the oven. 

Cream your butter and sugar until soft and and sandy.
Add the eggs and golden syrup and mix until fully incorporated.
Dry whisk or sieve, all the dry ingredients together.
Scrape down the sides of your bowl.
Add half the fruit mix, you prepared earlier to the batter and fold in with a spatula. Add the other half and mix until fully mixed together. 
The mix should look like the picture above ... scrape it out into the prepared tin. I greased my bundt pan and dusted it in a little flour.

Bake in your oven for up to an hour. Check it from 50 minutes on. Time will also depend on whether or not you use an 8 inch or a bundt pan. If you double the recipe you will need to leave it in for longer. 

A skewer when inserted in the middle should come out clear or clearish. It's a moist cake, you might get some crumbs!)

This week Jenny and the Great Bloggers Bake Off is hosted by the An Organised Mess' Debbie! Do be sure to pop on over to her page to see what the other bakers linked up.

A feast fit for a Victorian to be sure!