RICHARD'S FRUIT CAKE
 
Yes, you are seeing things correctly and, no, the Webmaster has not gone mad. This recipe produces a very fine fruit cake, which member Richard Lewis has taken on many of the club's walks throughout the UK and distributed to parties of weary trackbed-bashers. Now you can try its restorative powers for yourself! The recipe is at least 40 years old and was originally in imperial measurements only, but we have now added the metric equivalents.
 
Ingredients
½lb 250gm Mixed dried fruit
2oz 63gm Glacé cherries (halved)
4oz 125gm Margarine
2 2 Small eggs
4oz 125gm Brown sugar
3tsp 3tsp Almond essence
2oz 63gm Flaked almonds or chopped nuts
6oz 180gm Self-raising flour
     

Baking Tin
8½" x 4½" x 2½" deep, greased and lined with baking paper or greaseproof paper.

Method
Put fruit in a saucepan, cover with water and leave to soak overnight. Bring to the boil. Put the margarine and sugar together with the cherries, nuts and flavouring in a mixing bowl. Strain the fruit and, while still hot, tip the fruit over the mixture in the bowl. Stir well to mix all ingredients. 

Above: Member Mary Mathison at Spurn Head with her version of one of these cakes, shortly before hungry members of the club's Yorkshire Area devoured it. (Richard Lewis)

 
When the mixture has cooled, lightly beat the eggs and add to the mixture, then add the flour and mix well. Put the mixture into the baking tin.

Bake in a pre-heated oven at gas mark 4 for 30 minutes, then turn the gas down to mark 2 and cook for another hour approximately. The cake is cooked if a skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool for a few minutes and then turn out on to a cooling tray.

This cake can be stored in a freezer, which seems to improve the flavour.

The above is reproduced by courtesy of Mrs. Joyce Lewis, who notes that the recipe is 'very popular with family and friends'.  With its imperial measures, it looks like an old family recipe, and we hope that anyone who tries it will get a good result and not be disappointed.