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This is a butter-based tea cake loaded with sultanas, candied pineapple, lemon and orange cubes, dried apricots and glazed cherries, lifted with fresh lemon zest and a little rum. The crumb is fine, moist and buttery rather than heavy, so the fruit stays suspended through the cake instead of sinking to the bottom.

Baked flat in a lined tray with a second tray laid over the top, it comes out with a level, even surface, which makes it ideal for slicing into neat bars, fingers or shapes for decorated work. It is just as good simply cut into slices with a cup of tea, and it keeps well for several days wrapped up.

Ingredients

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Weight Per Unit: 1872
Number of Units: 1
Unit Size: 30 x 25 cm slab tray, about 3 cm high
WEIGHT
(grams) 		ALTERNATIVE METRIC INGREDIENT IMAGE CONDITION
A 250 8.8 ounces Butter Butter is a solid dairy product made by churning fresh or fermented cream or milk, to separate the butterfat from the buttermilk. It is generally used as a spread on plain or toasted bread products and a condiment on cooked vegetables, as well as in cooking, such as baking, sauce making, and pan frying. Butter consists of butterfat, milk proteins and water.
unsalted 		room temperature
B 250 8.8 ounces Sugar Sugar is the generalized name for sweet, short-chain, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. They are carbohydrates, composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. There are various types of sugar derived from different sources. Simple sugars are called monosaccharides and include glucose (also known as dextrose), fructose and galactose. The table or granulated sugar most customarily used as food is sucrose, a disaccharide. (In the body, sucrose hydrolyses into fructose and glucose.) Other disaccharides include maltose and lactose. Longer chains of sugars are called oligosaccharides. Chemically-different substances may also have a sweet taste, but are not classified as sugars. Some are used as lower-calorie food substitutes for sugar described as artificial sweeteners.
C 5 0.2 ounce Lemon Zest Lemon zest is the thin, brightly coloured outer layer of the lemon skin, removed with a fine grater or zester without taking the bitter white pith underneath. It holds the fruit's aromatic oils and gives a fresh citrus lift to batters and creams.
fresh 		finely grated
D 250 8.8 ounces Whole Egg Eggs are one of the most common ingredients in a typical cake. Egg yolks and whole eggs store significant amounts of protein and choline, and are widely used in baking. Usually an eggs role in a cake is to add moisture and richness, act as a raising agent as well as a glue to bind the ingredients together. room temperature
E 10 0.4 ounce Cake Emulsifier (ovalett) Cake emulsifier, sold as Ovalett, Jilk or sponge gel, is a soft paste that helps fat and liquid stay combined and holds air in the batter. It gives a finer, more even crumb and makes the mixture much less likely to split when the eggs are added.
F 75 2.6 ounces Milk Milk is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. Milk is processed into a variety of dairy products such as cream, butter, yogurt, kefir, ice cream, and cheese. Modern industrial processes use milk to produce casein, whey protein, lactose, condensed milk, powdered milk, and many other food-additives and industrial products. room temperature
G 1.5 0.1 ounce Salt Common salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in its natural form as a crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantities in seawater, where it is the main mineral constituent; the open ocean has about 35 grams (1.2 oz) of solids per litre, a salinity of 3.5%. Salt is essential for animal life, and saltiness is one of the basic human tastes. Salt is one of the oldest and most ubiquitous of food seasonings, and salting is an important method of food preservation.
H 5 0.2 ounce Vanilla Essence Vanilla Extract is made with 100% pure vanilla beans. With a sweet, syrupy consistency, this Vanilla is ideal for use in icings, drinks and whipped cream as well as classic baking recipes. Vanilla Essence is commercially manufactured by chemicals and is more of a watery consistency as opposed to vanilla extract which is thicker and a lot fuller and richer in flavour. You can replace one with the other but use 50% more of essence. For example, for 1 teaspoon of extract, use 1.5 teaspoons of essence.
I 250 8.8 ounces Cake Flour Cake flour is a finely milled white flour made from soft wheat. It has very low protein content, between 8% and 10%, making it suitable for soft-textured cakes and cookies. The higher protein content of other flours would make the cakes tough. Highly sifted cake flours may require different volume amounts in recipes than all-purpose flour. Using the scoop and level method, well-sifted flour usually produces 125 g per cup. However, most American recipes are written with 140 g of flour per cup, so weighing and experimentation can be helpful in baking unfamiliar recipes. Small weight differences can greatly affect the texture. American Cake flour is bleached; in countries where bleached flour is prohibited, plain flour can be treated in a domestic microwave to improve the texture of the end product. sifted
J 10 0.4 ounce Baking Powder Baking powder is a dry chemical leavening agent, a mixture of a carbonate or bicarbonate and a weak acid, and is used for increasing the volume and lightening the texture of baked goods. Baking powder works by releasing carbon dioxide gas into a batter or dough through an acid-base reaction, causing bubbles in the wet mixture to expand and thus leavening the mixture. It is used instead of yeast for end-products where fermentation flavors would be undesirable or where the batter lacks the elastic structure to hold gas bubbles for more than a few minutes, or for convenience. Because carbon dioxide is released at a faster rate through the acid-base reaction than through fermentation, breads made by chemical leavening are called quick breads. sifted
K 250 8.8 ounces Sultanas Sultanas are dried seedless white grapes, paler, softer and a little sweeter than raisins. They plump up nicely in cake batters and are a standard fruit for tea cakes and fruit loaves.
L 100 3.5 ounces Candied Pineapple Candied pineapple is pineapple simmered in sugar syrup until the fruit is saturated with sugar, then dried. It stays soft and chewy in baking and brings a bright tropical sweetness. diced
M 100 3.5 ounces Candied Lemon Cubes Candied lemon is lemon peel cooked in sugar syrup and dried, then cut into small cubes. It gives sharp citrus flavour and a slight chew through a fruit cake. diced
N 150 5.3 ounces Candied Orange Cubes Candied orange is orange peel cooked in sugar syrup and dried, then diced. It is the classic citrus note in fruit cakes and can be made at home from whole oranges. diced
O 100 3.5 ounces Dried Apricots Dried apricots are a type of traditional dried fruit. When treated with sulfur dioxide (E220), the color is vivid orange. Organic fruit not treated with sulfur vapor is darker in color and has a coarser texture.[1] Generally, the lighter the color, the higher the SO2 content. Light-colored varieties (with the sulfur content of more than 2000 ppm) are banned in the European Union. diced
P 50 1.8 ounces Candied Cherries
red, glazed 		halved
Q 15 0.5 ounce Rum
1871

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Method

STEP ACTION DETAIL CONDITION
1 Prepare Combine K, L, M, N, O and P (sultanas, candied pineapple, candied lemon, candied orange, dried apricots and candied cherries) in a bowl, pour over Q (rum) and toss well. Dust the fruit with a spoonful of the I (cake flour) taken from the weighed amount. Fruit lightly coated so it stays suspended in the batter
2 Pre-heat Pre-heat the oven to 190°C (375°F). Line a 30 x 25 cm tray with baking paper and have a second flat tray and a sheet of paper ready for the top.
3 Whip Whip A, B and C (butter, caster sugar and lemon zest) together. Pale, light and creamy
4 Mix In a jug, mix D, E and F (whole egg, cake emulsifier and milk) until smooth. Emulsifier fully dispersed, no lumps
5 Combine Add the egg mixture to the creamed butter a little at a time, beating well between each addition, then mix in G and H (salt and vanilla essence). Smooth and glossy, not curdled
6 Fold Sift I and J (cake flour and baking powder) over the batter and fold through. Just combined, no dry flour showing
7 Fold Fold the soaked fruit through the batter and mix well so it is evenly spread. Fruit evenly distributed
8 Fill Spread the mixture into the lined tray and level the surface. Lay a sheet of baking paper over the top and rest a flat tray on it. Even thickness across the tray
9 Bake Bake at 190°C (375°F) for 10 minutes, then lower the oven to 170°C (340°F) and bake for a further 20 minutes. Springs back when pressed and a skewer comes out clean
10 Cool Remove the top tray and paper, leave the cake in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack. Flat, level surface; cool completely before cutting

Important Notes

At half the bakery batch this makes about 1,870 g of mixture — one 30 x 25 cm slab about 3 cm high, or two standard loaf tins. Don't forget paper under the cake and paper over the top with a flat tray resting on it: this is what gives the cake a flat, even surface for cutting into bars, fingers or shapes. Soaking the fruit in rum first and dusting it with a little of the weighed flour keeps it from sinking. Once cooled, wrap well; the cake stays moist for several days at room temperature and can be frozen.

Tools & Arrangements

Electric mixer with paddle, mixing bowls, jug, sieve, spatula, digital scales, grater for the zest, 30 x 25 cm baking tray plus a second flat tray, baking paper, cooling rack, long serrated knife.

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