Variation

It's many years since I have made a Christmas cake as everyone seemed to want me to eat some of theirs!  This year, however, I decided to make this very simple cake and cook it in a square tin so I could cut it into half (or even quarters), cover each section with marzipan and give small cakes to other friends who live alone.

Baileys condensed milk fruit cake

1kg mixed dried fruit

400g tin condensed milk

3/4 cup Baileys Irish cream

2 cups self-raising flour

Method

In a large bowl, combine dried fruit, condensed milk, Baileys and 1/2 cup water. Mix well, cover and refrigerate overnight.

Remove from the fridge and stir well, allowing it to come to room temperature. Preheat oven to 150C. Grease and line an 18cm square cake tin.

Fold flour through soaked fruit. Pour into prepared tin and smooth the top. Bake for 2 hours until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

(For dried fruit  I used dried strawberries, cranberries, sultanas, raisins, blueberries, glace cherries, figs, dates, apricots)