Scottish fruitcake recipe?

This is commonly known as a "Boiled Fruit Cake" in the UK and there are several regional versions. Do not treat it like a conventional fruit cake. It must not be kept to mature like xmas cakes. I gave one to a friend who kept it for 2 months, wrapped of course. She iced it and tried to serve it to guests on xmas day but it would have blunted a chainsaw;-(

Be very careful when you add the dry ingredients. The soda can cause it to boil over! Graham

Thank you for the reply. I've wrapped these particular cakes in aluminum foil and frozen them for more than a month, then found it fairly easy to cut slices within a minute or two.

Do you know of any particular region(s) in Scotland where this type of cake is or was commonly found? The Scots in the woman's family were from the Lanark and Argyle regions.

When I advised not storing the cake for a long time, I didn't mean freezing it. I have a xmas cake in the basement cool store. Well wrapped and fed periodically with brandy. It is 4 or 5 years old! I wouldn't dream of freezing rich fruit cakes. However, the boiled variety are another matter.

Regarding the region of origin: the method was common in the UK during C19. One recipe I have is called "Boil in the pan fruit cake". I suppose it was a good method to hydrate the dried fruit that is not so necessary these days with the range of raisins, sultanas and currants available in the supermarkets. The one my mother uses is similar to an Irish recipe which, in turn, resembles a west Yorkshire one. I don't think that the region is all that important. The basic method is the same and the variations in fruit and spice would be based on the ingredients to hand and the tastes of individual families.

My mother's recipe follows:

1 8oz butter (or margarine) 2 8oz sugar 3 8oz sultanas 4 8oz raisins 5 1 level tsp mixed (cake) spice 6 15 fl.oz milk + water (50:50) 7 1 level tsp bicarbonate of soda 8 12 oz self raising flour 9 3 large eggs, beaten

Put 1 -6 in a saucepan and bring to boil then simmer for 10 minutes. Take off the heat and add the soda a bit at a time - BE CAREFUL, if you add it all at once it will boil over! Allow to cool. Add the flour and eggs. Bake at 300F for about 1.5 hours. Mum usually bakes this in several loaf tins. If you use a 7" or 8" round tin and bake one cake, I would imagine that it would be better to bake it at

275F for longer (covered, initially, to slow browning).

Cheers Graham

I've read the same caution about adding the soda before, and some recipes I've seen have it first dissolved in a little of the liquid. I'm curious as to why it boils up so. Where does all the required acid come from? Is there that much in raisins and sultanas?!?

Dave

I don't know. I just know that it has boiled over for me. I suppose we could check with litmus. Graham

A guess other than acid/base boiling -- perhaps adding the soda changes the boiling point enough that the "new" solution boils at the temp it is already at??