Farmhouse Fruit Bundt Cakes

This cake is based on my dad and grandad's favourite type of cake - a humble farmhouse fruit cake. A little bit of spice and lots of juicy fruit in a moist vanilla base. I always bake them something for Fathers' Day, so this year I made two small bundts each and popped them in a nice little cake box.

Ingredients:

• 225g unsalted butter
• 300g golden caster sugar
• 150g soft brown sugar
• 4 medium eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp lemon extract
• 350g plain flour
• 200g of luxury dried fruit - sultanas, apricots, cranberries, cherries etc
• 2 tbsp chopped crystallised ginger
• 1 1/2 tsp mixed spice
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp ginger
• 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 250ml thick vanilla yogurt

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to gas 3/160 c
2. Grease and flour four small bundt tins (or one regular sized bundt tin - 2.4l, 10 cup, 10 inch)
3. Cream the butter and sugars until pale and fluffy.
4. On a slow speed add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. 
5. Mix in the lemon and vanilla extracts.
6. In a separate bowl, sift the flour, spices, bicarbonate of soda and salt.
7. Mix the dried fruit and crystallised ginger into the flour mix and stir. A good coating of flour will help to stop them sinking to the bottom of the cake. The fruit gets caught in the sieve later and is left covered in flour - bingo!
8. Sift in a third of the flour mix followed by half of the yogurt. Repeat until all the flour and yogurt is used up.
9. Stir in the dried fruit mix.
10. Give a quick mix on a medium speed for about 10 seconds.
11. Pour the mix into the tin/s. Push into any nooks and crannies! Whatever your tin size, only fill them 3/4 full. 
12. Bake in the centre of the oven for about 1 hour (1 hour and 15 minutes for a large bundt) or until a skewer comes out clean and it is shrinking from the tin slightly. 
13. Leave them to cool in the tin for ten minutes then turn out.

These went down an absolute storm. The smaller bundt tins are ideal when making cakes as gift. This one comes with four different designs, but I also have a tin which has six miniature anniversary cakes which is nice too. The cooking time doesn't vary massively - just remember you are looking for the cakes to be golden brown, shrinking from the sides of the tin and a skewer should come out clean. Just have a peep after about 45 minutes to see what's going down... 

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