After a break last month (Brownies got in the way) it was
time this week to make another cake for Clandestine Cake Club. The theme this month was “Happy Cakes”. I
went for a Tropical Fruit Cake because being in the tropics makes me happy (and
so does cake). Fruit cake is also on my list of “basics” to attempt to master,
and as I near the end of my QGA, it was time to get back to trying to get these
right.
Method
I found the recipe in a Stork advert in a magazine. It’s
also available, with a video, here. They call it a Winter Wonderland Cake on the website but since I didn’t
decorate it, my cake deserves a simpler name.
The eggs, flour, ground almonds, baking powder and of course
Stork were beaten together to make a pretty basic heavy sponge. I did worry a
little when the mix wasn’t turning out completely smooth, but then remembered that
the ground almonds would make it look a little gritty. I then folded in the
fruits which had been soaking in orange juice for 30 mins plus. I couldn’t find
the sour cherries required in my local Tesco so I substituted these for yet
more cranberries. The tropical fruits took some finding too and I ended up with
a mix of mango, pineapple, papaya and apricots; all chopped into cranberry
sized pieces.
This mixture then went into a large greased and lined tin
and into the oven for the long baking process (1 hour plus). As usual, even
with a thermometer, my oven didn’t really play ball. The inside of the cake
didn’t cook in the time allowed so the outside was a little darker than I would
have wanted.
Results
It’s always nerve wracking when you have no idea what your cake
is like until a room full of pretty much strangers cut into it and start
eating. Apart from the slightly brown outside the cake itself was pretty yummy.
However, I had forgotten about one of the perils of fruit cake baking –
sinkage! All the fruit had sunk to the bottom and in this laden down cake this
meant that the bottom inch was like a dried fruit salad. The top part was like
a lovely madeira cake though. I might have to search the internet for a cure
for this, although I fear this is an ongoing issue for many.
Score: 7/10