Tropical Fruit Cake

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