Mmmm, Christmas Cake

It's that time of year again, the air is cold and smells of bonfires so it must be time to make the Christmas Cake. I'm very British and my Christmas is mainly to do with dried fruit and brandy, both of which my Canuck husband dislikes intensely. Despite this every year I make my cake and I am the only one to eat it, which means half of it goes into the freezer and I'm still eating it at Easter, running out just in time to make the Simnel Cake (more dried fruit, no brandy but  - quel horreur - marzipan).
The cake is supposed to take two days to make - but as I am pushed for time this week I am going to cut corners and only soak the fruit in brandy for 8 hours instead of twelve, hopefully get it all in the oven this evening and cooked by bedtime (it takes 4 hours in the oven!). This is a post which will run and run as the cake gets wrapped up and put away for at least a month, getting  a regular brandy feed once a week (lucky cake).

Sultana's, raisins, glace cherries, mixed peel and brandy....mmmmm