When Mummy and Daddy were honey-mooning in Goa (I think) ( Mama corrected me - it was Bangalore), she bought a number of "Imported" magazines. Indulged Bride!!! Later she pulled out the recipe pages and got them bound into "The Big Blue Book". Many, many years later, when I was just finishing school, I found this recipe there, which I modified to suit our tastes and our wallets! I have used the same recipe for all our Weddings- Arlene, Paula, mine, Esther and Bell, and a few friends. I always make this cake for Christmas too.

Ingredients

• 250 grams plums

• 250 grams sultanas

• 200 grams black raisins

• 150 grams mixed peel

• 150 grams cherries

• rind of 2 lemons (chopped)

• 75 grams cashews chopped fine

• 250 grams flour

• 2 tablespoons rum

• 3 dessertspoons cocoa

• 2 dessertspoons coffee essence

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 2 teaspoons mixed spice

• 1 teaspoon grated nutmeg

• 250 grams margarine ( I use Amul Butter!)

• 250 grams Demerara/Muscuvado/brown sugar

• 5 eggs

Method

Mix together all the chopped fruit and cashew by hand.

Sift the flour, nutmeg, baking powder, salt, spice and the cocoa.

Cream together the butter and the sugar, and add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Fold in the flour mixture gently.

 Add the essences and lastly stir in the fruit mixture.

Pour into a greased lined 7"(square) pan . Bake on Gas mark 3 for 1/2 an hour and the on Gas Mark 2 for almost 2 hours. Check with a skewer pierced through the center. If it is ready, the skewer will come out clean.