Christmas fruit cake

Place the dried fruit and glace cherries into a large saucepan with 2 tbsp of the rum and the lemon juice and rind, and heat to a simmer. Heat for 5 minutes while stirring with a wooden spoon. Pour the fruit into a bowl, cover and leave to stand for 24 hours.

Preheat the oven to 150C/Gas 2. Grease and double line the base and sides of a 20cm/8 inch round, deep cake tin.

Beat the butter and sugar together until fluffy and then beat in the eggs gradually, adding a tsp flour each time. Beat in the treacle, then sift in the flour and spice.

Add the fruit and stir throroughly until the mixture is smooth. Spoon into the tin and smooth evenly. Bake for 1 hour.

Then reduce the temperature to 140C/Gas 1 and bake for a further 3-3½ hours, or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out cleanly.

Spoon the remaining tbsp of rum over the warm cake and leave to cool in the tin. When cold, wrap in greaseproof paper, then wrap tightly in foil and store for 1-2 months to enhance flavour. Ice to taste.