Miner's Boiled Fruit Cake
A moist, spiced country fruit cake packed with sultanas and citrus peel. Simmering the fruit creates a rich, long-keeping crumb with a tender texture.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 75 min
- Total
- 95 min
- Servings
- 12
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Calories
- 340 kcal
Equipment
- •20 cm round cake tin
- •Medium saucepan
- •Wooden spoon
- •Sieve
- •Wire cooling rack
Nutrition
Per serving, approximate
- Calories
- 340 kcal
- fat
- 10 g
- carbs
- 58 g
- fibre
- 3 g
- protein
- 4 g
- calories
- 340 kcal
Instructions
- 1
Preheat your oven to 160°C or 140°C fan-forced.
- 2
Grease and line the base and sides of a 20 cm cake tin with a double layer of baking paper.
- 3
Place the dried fruit, brown sugar, butter, water, mixed spice, and cinnamon into a medium saucepan.
- 4
Bring the mixture to a gentle boil over medium heat, stirring until the butter melts and sugar dissolves.
- 5
Simmer gently for 5 minutes, then remove the saucepan from the heat.
- 6
Stir in the bicarbonate of soda and leave the mixture to cool completely to room temperature.
- 7
Stir the beaten eggs into the cooled fruit mixture until well incorporated.
- 8
Sift the plain flour, self-raising flour, and salt together over the saucepan.
- 9
Fold the flour gently into the fruit mixture with a wooden spoon until no dry patches remain.
- 10
Spoon the batter into the prepared tin and smooth the surface evenly.
- 11
Bake for 65 to 75 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
- 12
Cool the cake in the tin for 20 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.
Chef's tips
Make sure the boiled fruit mixture cools down fully before adding the eggs so they do not scramble. Double-lining the cake tin protects the sugary dried fruit from scorching against the metal during the long bake. For the best flavour, bake this cake a day before slicing.
Ingredient substitutions
- butter → dairy-free block margarine
- mixed dried fruit → an equal weight of sultanas, chopped dried figs, and raisins
Storage
Store the cake wrapped in baking paper inside an airtight container at room temperature for up to two weeks, or freeze for up to three months.
Reheating
Enjoy at room temperature, or warm single slices gently in an oven at 150°C for five minutes if desired.
Common mistakes to avoid
- •Adding eggs while the boiled syrup is still warm, which cooks the egg pieces unevenly.
- •Using single-layer baking paper, causing the base and outer edges of the cake to catch and darken.
- •Slicing the cake while it is still warm, causing the moist crumb to crumble.
Serving suggestions
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