Super Secret Online Cooking Society !

- 450g self raising flour
- 4 eggs beaten
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- half a box of mixed spice
- 1 glass of rum (you choose the glass!)
- 50g chopped almonds
- 350g mixed dried fruit
- 350g brown sugar
- 50g flaked almonds
- 225g butter
- 50g lard (I usually make this measurement up with extra butter)
- 50g glace cherries (i usually add a few more as we all like them)
- 1 bottle of almond essence
- 250ml stout

(1) Mix together all the dry ingredients except the sugar
(2) Rub the fat into the dry ingredients
(3) Rub in the sugar
(4) Rub in the cherries, breaking them up as you go
(5) Stir in the mixed fruit (these can be soaked over night but not essential)
(6) Add the bottle of almond essence
(7) Mix in the rum
(8) Add the chopped and flaked almonds
(9) Mix in the beaten egg
(10) Pour the beer into the bowl that you used to beat the eggs and swish around before pouring into the cake mix
(11) Pour mix into a greased and lined tin - it will be very wet. we use a loose bottom round tin, about 25cm diameter with deep sides. if a larger tin so cake not as deep you may have to adjust cooking times slightly
(12) Bake at 150 degrees C for 1 hour, then 100 - 110 degrees C for 2 hours, then 50 - 90degrees C for half an hour
(13) If you are worried that cake is drying cover with news paper or damp tea towel part way through baking
(14) allow to cool then wrap with grease proof paper and then layer of tin foil.
(15) Keep somewhere cool and dark until christmas.