Rum Fruit Cake (Melton Hunt Cake)
Rum fruit cake laden with sultanas, currants, glacé cherries, flaked almonds and Jamaican rum is a real treat. Known as Melton Hunt cake, this easy fruit cake recipe, originating in Leicestershire, has been around since 1854.
Servings: 16
Calories: 350kcal
Equipment
- 1 x 8-inch (20cm) deep cake tin
Ingredients
- 225 g Sultanas
- 100 g Currants
- 100 g Glacé cherries
- 100 g Flaked almonds
- 30 g Citrus peel optional
- 225 g Plain flour all-purpose flour
- 225 g Butter
- 3 tablespoons Rum dark, spiced or amber
- 3 Eggs large, free-range
- 225 g Dark muscovado sugar
Garnish for the top
- 1 Glacé cherries whole
- 8 Blanched almonds whole
Instructions
- Chop the cherries and citrus peel (if using) finely then put them into a bowl with the sultanas and currants. Pour in the rum, stir well and leave it all to soak for at least 2 hours (or overnight).
- Preheat your oven to 150C/ 300F.
- Prepare your baking tin by greasing and lining the base and inner sides of the tin with baking parchment. Next, add a baking strip if using (see instructions at the bottom detailing how to make a baking strip).
- Cream the butter and sugar together for several minutes, using electric beaters, until it is noticeably lighter in colour and looks fluffy.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition.
- Sieve ½ of the flour into the bowl and fold it in using a large metal spoon. Repeat with the remaining flour.
- Fold in the rum-soaked dried fruit along with the flaked almonds.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared baking tin and spread it out.
- Lay 8 whole glacé cherries, equally spaced out, around the edge of the cake and place one in the centre of the cake too. Place 8 whole blanched almonds around the edge of the cake, in between each cherry.
- Bake the cake for 45 minutes at 150C (300F) then reduce the temperature to 140C (280F) and continue to bake for a further 60-75 minutes until it is cooked through.
- To test if it is baked sufficiently either poke a skewer into the centre of the cake (if should come out clean) or use a digital food thermometer to test the temperature (aim for 95C-98C/ 203F-208F).
- Remove the cake from the oven and let cool completely in the tin before unmoulding it.
Notes
- Using a homemade baking strip helps your cake cook evenly, meaning the side of the cake will be less dry than normal.
- I suggest using a homemade strip as it’s cheap and you can make it fit your pan perfectly. Many of the bought strips are intended for sandwich tins so are not deep enough to fit the tin.
- Don’t push the cherries and almonds too deeply into the top of the cake. As the cake bakes it will rise around them naturally.
- If you are not sure if your cake is cooked then use a digital food thermometer to test the temperature in the centre of the cake. Aim for 95C-98C (203F-208F)
- The cherries on top of the cake might dry out a little as the cake bakes. If it bothers you, you can always replace them once the cake has cooled down
- Cut a piece of kitchen foil long enough to wrap around the side of your baking tin, overlapping slightly.
- Cut a piece of kitchen towel of equal length to the foil.
- Fold the kitchen towel lengthwise ⅓ of the way in. Now fold the strip in half lengthways.
- Lay the strip of kitchen towel into the centre of the foil and pour a generous amount of cold water over it.
- Now fold the bottom part of the foil over the towel
- Fold the top part over it too. The kitchen towel should now be enclosed in the foil.
- Grease and line the inside of your baking tin as normal.
- Wrap the baking strip around the outside edge of your baking tin and clip it into place. it is ready to use.
Nutrition
Calories: 350kcal | Carbohydrates: 48g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.5g | Cholesterol: 61mg | Sodium: 113mg | Potassium: 252mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 31g | Vitamin A: 401IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 53mg | Iron: 2mg
