Tony Antonias, local arts promoter, offers up a recipe from his native Australia. His sister, who still lives Down Under, provided him with this "absolutely beautiful" recipe for fruitcake.
FESTIVE FRUIT AND NUT CAKE
250 grams dates
125 grams glace pineapple
126 grams glace apricots
125 grams glace green cherries
125 grams glace red cherries
125 grams whole blanched almonds
250 grams Brazil nuts
2 eggs
One-half cup brown sugar, lightly packed
1 Tbsp. vanilla
1 Tbsp. rum
90 grams butter
One-third cup plain flour
3 Tbsp. self-rising flour
Chop pineapple and apricots into fairly large pieces. Leave remaining fruit and nuts whole. Mix all well together.
Beat eggs until thick and creamy. Add sugar, vanilla, rum and soft butter, beating until combined. Stir in sifted flours, and fruit-and-nut mixture.
Divide mixture between two greased bar tins (base measure seven centimetres by 25 cm), with base lined with greaseproof paper. Press mixture firmly into tins.
Bake in slow oven one-and-onequarter hour or until cake is firm to touch.
Cool in tin 10 minutes. When cold, wrap in plastic food wrap and refrigerate in airtight container for at least three months.
(Tony says the cake is tasty if eaten before the three-month mark. He notes that a "slow oven" in Australia means 300 F or 150 C.)
