Shearer’s Fruit Tea Cake

This fruit tea cake is delicious as an afternoon treat with a lovely cup of black tea.  

INGREDIENTS
370g (2 cups) mixed dried fruit
½ cup orange or apple juice
230g (1 ½ cups) brown sugar
1 tablespoon mixed spice (or mix of ground nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom)
250ml (1 cup) hot, strong strained Nerada Black Tea
1 to 2 eggs, beaten
80ml (4 tablespoons) golden syrup
520g (4 cups) SR flour
½ teaspoon salt
300ml cream (optional)

METHOD

1. Place dried fruit in a large bowl, pour on fruit juice and then tea, mix and leave covered overnight (in fridge if desired) to allow tea and juice to soak into fruit mix.
2. Next day, preheat oven to 160ºC (325ºF). Grease a 20cm square cake tin, or 2 x loaf tins.
3. Take fruit mixture and add beaten egg, golden syrup, brown sugar, flour and salt and stir well (for a richer cake add up to 300mls cream if desired). Pour into prepared tin(s) and bake in oven for 1 – 1 ½ hours on medium heat. Check to see if cooked by inserting a skewer into centre of cake. It is cooked if the skewer comes out clean. Cool on a rack, slice thinly and serve buttered when cold.