Christmas Fruit Cake - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1/3 cup golden raisins
1/3 cup raisins
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup currants
1/4 cup brandy
1/3 cup chopped candied apricots
1/3 cup chopped candied pineapple
14 tbsp (1 3/4 sticks) butter, chopped, at room temperature
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3 None eggs
1 None orange, peel finely grated
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup orange juice
2/3 cup chopped pecans
None None Candied fruit and blanched whole almonds, to decorate

Preparation

Mix raisins, dried cranberries, currants and brandy in a large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand for 3 hours or overnight. Stir in candied apricots and pineapple.
Preheat the oven to 300\u00b0F. Lightly grease an 8 inch square cake pan. Line the bottom and sides of the pan with two layers of parchment paper, making sure it comes 1 inch above the rim of the pan.
Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in fruit mixture and orange peel.
Sift flour, baking powder and spices into a bowl. Add 1/2 to the batter and mix well. Stir in 1/2 the orange juice and pecans. Fold in remaining flour, orange juice and pecans.
Pour carefully into prepared pan (make sure to pack into corners), smoothing top. Decorate with candied fruit and almonds.
Bake for 2 1/2 - 2 3/4 hours, until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean and dry. Cover cake with clean tea towels and cool completely. Remove from pan and wrap tightly in plastic wrap and foil.