Top tier cake Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp orange flower water
• zest and juice 1 orange
• zest and juice 1 lemon
• 140g unsalted butter, softened
• 140g golden caster sugar
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 175g plain flour
• 100g undyed glace cherries, halved
• 100g dried apricots, roughly chopped
• 100g mixed peel, chopped (we used Sundora)
• 100g golden sultanas
• 50g shelled pistachios, left whole
• 50g (3 balls) stem ginger from a jar

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 160C/fan 140C/gas 3. Grease and double-line the base and sides of a deep, 15cm cake tin. Wrap a double layer of greaseproof or brown paper around the outside of the tin, too, then secure with string.
2. Using an electric whisk or a tabletop mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy and light. Beat in the eggs gradually. In a small bowl, mix the orange flower water with the zest and juice of the orange and lemon. Fold the flour, then dried fruit, pistachioes and ginger into the creamed mix, followed by the juice and zest mix.
3. Spoon the mix into the prepared tin and bake for 30 mins, then turn oven down to 150C/ fan 130C/gas 2 and bake for another 1 hr 45 mins until risen, golden and an inserted skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool for 15 mins before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
4. The cake will keep well wrapped in a cool place for up to 1 month.