Berkshire Fruit Cake

A heritage English fruit cake that weighs in at five and a half pounds and bakes for four and a half hours at a very low heat. This is old-world baking at its most patient: a buttery, molasses-darkened batter loaded with nine cups of dried fruit (raisins, currants, and thinly sliced citron) spiced with cinnamon, cloves, and mace.

The triple sifting is deliberate and shouldn’t be skipped. Sifting the cake flour three times with the baking powder, salt, and spices distributes the leavening and spices with absolute evenness, which matters enormously in a cake this dense. Uneven distribution means pockets of bland and pockets of overspiced in a cake that takes nearly five hours to bake, and by then there’s no fixing it.

Cream the butter and sugar until genuinely light and fluffy. Six well-beaten eggs go in next, then the massive quantity of dried fruit, grape juice, and molasses all get stirred in before the flour is added gradually. The flour goes in last and in stages to prevent the heavy batter from deflating.

Line the tube pan with heavy paper and grease it twice (once before the paper, once after). This cake bakes so long that even a well-greased pan will stick without the paper barrier.

Chef Tips

• Toss the dried fruit in a tablespoon of flour before adding to prevent it from sinking to the bottom
• Check with a toothpick at the 4-hour mark; ovens vary and this cake can overbake at the edges
• Let cool completely before slicing; the dense crumb needs time to set
• This cake improves with age; wrap tightly and store for up to a month

Variations

• Boozy: Replace grape juice with brandy or dark rum for a more traditional British fruit cake
• Nut-studded: Add a cup of chopped walnuts or pecans with the fruit
• Christmas cake: Ice with marzipan and royal icing for a holiday centerpiece