stained glass window cake...

This year I put my hand up to tackle one of the family Christmas cakes, previously the sole responsibility of my Mother and as Sunday was grey and drizzly here, it was perfect for a little festive baking...

We traditionally have two cakes at Christmas.., a lusciously rich fruit cake with lots of brandy and a marzipan/royal icing and the 'Stained Glass Window Cake' laden with nuggets of glace fruit and nuts, which is the one I decided to attempt (the easier of  the two).

Ingredients

3/4 cup of plain flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon of salt.

3/4 cup of caster sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 eggs   

1 cup of chopped dried figs

1  & 1/2 cups of whole brazil nuts

1 & 1/2 cups of whole walnuts or pecans

1/2 a cup of glacé ginger

1 cup of maraschino cherries

1 cup of dried Turkish apricots

• Preheat the oven to 160 degrees (150 for fan forced).
• Triple sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl.
• Add the sugar, fruit and nuts and combine.
• Whisk the eggs well and add to the bowl, along with the vanilla.
• Stir all ingredients until really well combined (it's a Christmas tradition in our family to all have a  good stir and make a wish).
• Press firmly into a greased and paper lined bar tin (approx 200 x 125mm) and level out on top.
• Bake on the centre rack for 1 & 3/4 - 2 hours or until firm.
• Allow to cool for half an hour before turning out of pan and then cool completely before removing paper.
• Once cool, wrap cake tightly in foil and cling wrap and then refrigerate.
• Slice very thinly with a sharp knife to serve and enjoy!!

I love this cake because beside from being really yummy (especially if you're  a nut fan like me), when sliced it really does remind you of stained glass. Making this cake turned out to be pretty easy too...

Now it will sit in the fridge (untouched) until Christmas. I will be strong...