Ingredients.
- 260g good quality mixed dried fruit
- 50ml Grounded Pleasures Vanilla Extract
- 75ml boiling water
- 300g plain flour
- 1.5 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp mixed spice
- 250g unsalted butter, softened
- 240g Grounded Pleasures Panela Sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 tbsp sticky quince syrup (I used one from Singing Magpie Produce) or honey
- 50g mixed nuts such as almonds, pistachios or macadamias
- 35g (approx.) natural almonds for decoration
- 10g blanched pistachios, roughly chopped, for decoration
Method.
Chop the dried fruit, and place into a bowl. Cover with the vanilla extract and boiling water and leave to soak for about half an hour.
Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celsius, and line a 31 x 7.5 x 8cm loaf tin with baking paper.
Combine the flour, baking powder and spices in a medium sized bowl and briefly whisk to combine and remove any lumps.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until well combined and fluffy.
Add the eggs one at a time, ensuring they are well combined after each addition.
Add the sticky quince syrup and the flour mix and mix until combined.
Remove the bowl from the stand mixer, add the soaked fruit along with any liquid left in the bowl and mix into the batter using a large wooden spoon or a spatula. Then add the nuts.
Transfer the mixture to the prepared loaf tin and arrange the almonds around the outside. Sprinkle over the chopped pistachios, and bake for about 1 hour 15min. Check the cake at around 45min-1hour, and cover with foil if necessary. The cake will be ready when the top is golden and a skewer comes out clean.
Allow the cake to cool in the tin for 20-30mins, then remove onto a wire rack.