Traditional Christmas Fruitcake

Instructions

Place the fruit into a bowl, pour in 100ml of brandy, mix, cover with a clean tea towel and leave to soak over night. Line the bottom of a loaf tin with baking paper and grease the sides with coconut oil.

Sift the flour, salt, nutmeg and mixed spice in to a large mixing bowl, tip in the sugar, eggs, syrup and spreadable butter and beat until smooth. Fold in the soaked fruit mixture, 50g of chopped almonds and the zest of an orange and a lemon.

Preheat the oven to 140C, pour the cake mixture in to the prepared tin, place whole almonds on top and sprinkle with chopped almonds and place on the lowest shelf of the oven for four hours or until baked through.

Leave to cool in the tin for half an hour then carefully remove the cake and leave to cool completely on a cooling rack.

Once cool, use a clean toothpick to poke holes in the cake and spoon a little brandy on to the cake, wrap in foil and store in an airtight container. Feed with brandy every now and then until you're ready to serve.