Old-Fashioned Moist Boiled Fruit Cake

In a large saucepan, combine the dried fruit, brown sugar, butter, and water. Bring it to a simmer over medium heat, stirring consistently until the sugar is dissolved. I recommend using a low heat setting to prevent any burning. This process takes about 5 minutes. After this, allow the mixture to cool for approximately 15 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 170°C (340°F) and grease a round or square cake tin and line it with parchment paper. It's essential to properly line your tin with the baking paper as it prevents the cake from burning along the edges during the lengthy baking time.

Add the flour, baking soda, mixed spice, beaten eggs, brandy, and a pinch of salt into the cooled fruit mixture. Stir thoroughly until all the ingredients are combined. This part of the procedure can be quite tedious but patience and thorough mixing will grant you a well-baked and evenly textured cake. Remember, lumps in the batter can lead to uneven baking.

Pour the cake mixture into your prepared tin and flatten it with the back of a spoon to ensure it's distributed evenly.

Place the tin in the preheated oven and bake for 1.5 hours, or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Be sure to keep a close eye on the cake during the last half an hour of baking as every oven behaves differently and you don't want your hard work to turn into a burnt mess.

Allow the cake to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then transfer it to a wire rack to cool completely. We suggest serving with a hot cup of tea or coffee.