Ingredients

• 450g mixed dried fruit
  50g glacé cherries (optional)
  grated zest of 1 orange
  1 tbsp LittlePod chocolate extract or 350ml beer (use LittlePod’s vanilla beer if you have some left or a regular stout instead)
  350g plain flour
  ¼ teaspoon mixed spice
  175g butter or margarine
  275g soft brown sugar
  50g walnuts or 50g blanched almonds, shredded
  grated zest of 1 lemon
  ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
  150ml beer (use LittlePod’s vanilla beer if you have some left or a regular stout instead)
  3 eggs
  1 tsp LittlePod vanilla paste or 1 vanilla pod (seeds only)

Method

1. Soak the dried fruit, cherries and orange zest overnight or for at least one hour in the chocolate extract (you could also add the juice of the orange for extra flavour). Alternatively, soak the fruit in 350ml of vanilla beer or a regular stout.

2. Sift the flour and spice into a mixing bowl. Cut the butter or margarine into the flour and rub it in until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add the sugar, soaked fruit (after straining), nuts and lemon zest, and stir well.

3. Dissolve the bicarbonate of soda in the 150ml of vanilla beer or stout over a low heat. Beat the eggs, add the vanilla paste (or vanilla pod seeds) and combine them with the beer mixture, off the heat. Stir this into the dry ingredients and mix well.

4. Pour the mixture into a 20cm round cake pan, greased and lined with baking paper, with a 5cm collar. Bake in a pre-heated oven for two hours, then reduce the temperature to 100°C (fan oven) / 120°C (conventional) / 250°F, or until nicely browned. If a knife or skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean, the cake is cooked.

5. Allow the cake to cool in the pan before turning it out. Do not cut it the same day, if possible; it’s best kept to mature in an airtight container. If you add extra dried fruit and decorate with marzipan and fondant icing, it makes a perfect (and much less time-consuming) Christmas cake.