Welcome to Jacican
I love to cook, I've always loved to cook.
As a young girl, my time was spent reading the cookbooks that mum kept in the bottom kitchen drawer. Always looking for a new recipe to try, a new food idea. Many weekends were spent making rainbow cakes with as many colours as possible – have you seen my Instagram, not much has changed, and looking for recipes that I could cook using what was available in the cupboard or from the vegetable garden.
At the aged of about 16, I remember stating that I wanted to leave the farm and travel the world. This would be followed by retiring by about 30 and moving back to South Gippsland to grow vegetables and cook. From 16 fast forward 20 years and I returned, starting Jacican Food Studio in Mirboo North, Gippsland where I grow vegetables and cook. This blog is where I share my food adventure.
Fruitcake is one of those things that can take you a long time to make, planning and starting months before you need to have it ready for the family Christmas. Or for those of you, like me, that sometimes run short of time, I've put together an easy and slightly quicker Christmas cake recipe that will only take you two days to make - one day to soak the fruit; one day to bake the cake.
Christmas Cake
Ingredients
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1.5 kg dried fruit 125 ml brandy 1 tablespoon marmalade 250 grams brown sugar 5 eggs 250 grams butter 250 grams self-raising flour
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Method
Soak fruit in brandy overnight. If you want to soak it for longer, by all means, do - you can never have too much brandy in dried fruit. I made up a dried fruit mix using what was in the cupboard - sultanas, raisins, mixed peel, currants and a few glace cherries.
Combine butter, sugar, and flour with egg. Beat until well combined.
Add the marmalade and mix well.
Add the soaked fruit and mix well.
Transfer mixture to greased and papered baking tins. I used three x 23 cm-long baking tins for this mixture. Cook in a very slow oven (155°C) for about 2 hours, until firm, to touch.
If you want, you can pour an extra half cup of brandy over the still warm cake to enhance the flavor... and maybe put a twinkle in the cake eater's eye.