Recipes

02.06.23

1880s Honey Fruit Cake

From the archives, a favourite of beekeepers from years gone by. Our Honey Fruit Cake recipe is delightfully nostalgic and a beautiful representation of the flavours and baking traditions of the 1880s. 140 years on we’ve reimagined this humble fruit cake recipe into a modern-day classic keeping that traditional honey flavour we know and love!

HONEY FRUIT CAKE – Four eggs, five cups of flour, two cups of honey, one teacupful butter, one cup sweet milk, two teaspoonful cream of tartar, one teaspoonful soda, one pound raisins, one pound currents, half pound citron, one teaspoonful each cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg; bake in a large loaf in a slow oven. This will be nice months after baking as well as when fresh.

 

Prep time:15 minutes
Cook time:2 hours 45 minutes
Servings:16
Calories:402

Ingredients

  • 3 3/4 cups plain flour
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups Beechworth Honey Traditional Honey
  • 160 g butter (softened)
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 330 g raisins
  • 330 g currants
  • 175 g mixed peel
  • 1 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp ground cloves
  • 1 tsp nutmeg
Honey Syrup Glaze

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 150°C. Grease an 18cm square cake tin with butter and line the base and sides with non-stick baking paper.
  • Place the flour, eggs, honey, butter, milk, raisins, currants, mixed peel, cream of tartar, baking soda, cinnamon, ground cloves and nutmeg in a large bowl and mix until combined.
  • Spoon the mixture into the prepared cake tin and bake in a preheated oven for 2 hours 45 minutes or until the top is dark golden brown and a skewer comes out clean when inserted into the centre of the cake.
  • Remove the cake from the oven and set aside to cool slightly before removing it from the tin.
  • To make the honey syrup glaze, place the honey and boiling water into a small bowl and mix until combined. While the cake is still warm, use a pastry brush to coat the top and edges with the honey syrup.
  • Allow the cake to cool completely before cutting. This cake is delicious to eat now or store in an airtight container.

Nutrition

Calories: 402 kcalCarbohydrates: 96 gProtein: 6 gFat: 2 gSaturated Fat: 1 gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1 gMonounsaturated Fat: 1 gTrans Fat: 1 gCholesterol: 33 mgSodium: 123 mgPotassium: 478 mgFiber: 3 gSugar: 53 gVitamin A: 97 IUVitamin C: 2 mgCalcium: 65 mgIron: 3 mg