Chai Fruit Cake

Chai Boiled Fruit Cake

This month’s Sweet Adventures Blog Hop is “What’s Your Cup of Tea?”. 

JJ of 84^th and 3^rd  is the hostess of this month’s blog hop and I was a bit stumped as to what to do as the family aren’t big tea drinkers. Then at the last minute I remembered that the family are big cake eaters. I have a stack of dried fruit and while it does keep it doesn’t keep for ever. So Chai Boiled Fruit Cake it is.

 The fruit cake as we know it is descended from a type of porridge eaten by just about everybody in times gone past. As a special treat for Christmas they’d throw in some dried fruit and nuts. Eventually it became so thick that ground oats or wheat and eggs were added and the whole mixture was put it in a cloth and boiled – Eureka Christmas pudding. Most people, the poor especially, didn’t have stoves as we know them or ovens. So boiling was their main option.

 A traditional fruit cake has fruit soaked in alcohol for a few days or weeks before the cake is made. This results in a heavy dense cake that keeps indefinitely if stored correctly. 

In the 19^th Century the custom was to send Christmas Hampers of food and gifts to family members in the colonies. The contents had to be able to stand a long sea voyage and a fruitcake was ideal.

The quick option is a boiled fruit cake. It doesn’t keep for months or years as a traditional fruit cake will and I can’t tell you how long it will keep as my family eat it all before it goes bad. Stored in the refrigerator or freezing will help it last longer. I recommend cutting it into slices before freezing for easier use.

Ingredients

3 Chai Teabags

600 ml of boiling water

150 grams dates

150 grams dried figs

250 grams sultanas

100 grams dried apricots

100 grams dried pears

100 grams dried peaches

100 grams currants

100 grams dried apple

1 tablespoon fresh ginger

Grated rind and juice of 1 orange

125 grams butter

½ cup of your favourite jam

1 teaspoon mixed spice

1 cup ground almonds

1 cup slivered almonds

1 cup self-raising flour

2 cups plain flour

Method

Place the teabags in a heat proof jug. Add the boiling water and leave to steep.

Chop the dried fruit into pieces about the same size as the sultanas.

Remove the teabags from the tea and place the tea, dried fruit, juice, rind, spices, jam and butter in a saucepan and heat over a low heat, stirring regularly until the fruit has absorbed most of the liquids.

Remove from the heat and allow to cool with the lid off until it is lukewarm.

Add the remaining ingredients and mix well to combine.

Line a 35cm x 25cm x 7cm baking tray with two layers of bake-paper.

Loosely cover with a piece of bake paper and a layer of foil – Bake in a 150° Celsius oven (If your oven is not fan forced increase the temperature to 160° C) for 60 minutes and then remove the foil and bake for another 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

Cool in the tin and store in an airtight container.

Serve with custard or spread with butter for a touch of luxury.

I concocted this recipe from a lot of other fruit cake recipes and I've made it quite a few times.
You can substitute margarine for the butter and gluten free flour for the regular flour I have used.
You can substitute fruit juice for the tea and lemon for the orange.
I use up whatever jam has been hanging around in the refrigerator the longest.
The ginger  came out of a tube as I didn't have any fresh root ginger on hand.
Only lay the the bake paper and foil over the cake do not seal it around the sides the steam needs to escape.
If you like fruit cake can I suggest you also look at my Jaffa Fruit Cake