Jewel Box

Name: Jewel Box
Yield: Serves 25
Cuisine: Australian
Ingredients: 180 g multi-coloured glacé cherries; 3 eggs, lightly beaten; 350 g multi-coloured glacé cherries, halved; 3 tbsp apricot jam; 3 tbsp dark rum or brandy, or to taste, plus more to feed (optional); 100 g self-raising flour; 1 tsp salt; unsalted butter, for the tin; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 140 g golden caster sugar; 250 g dates, stoned but whole; 180 g whole brazil nuts; squeeze of lemon juice; 180 g whole pecan nuts; 50 g raisins, Lexia if possible; 100 g large pieces of candied peel, roughly chopped (not pre-chopped in little packets!); finely grated zest of 1 unwaxed lemon; 50 g crystallised stem ginger, roughly chopped

Australian Panforte

Preparation info

Serves
25

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

The Birthday Cake Book

By Fiona Cairns

Published 2011

About

Based on an old Australian recipe, this cake is simplicity itself to make and is packed with whole nuts and fruits, bound with a little butterless cake batter. If you prefer, you could make a more tasteful, reserved cake using dark, undyed cherries.

Ingredients

For the Cake

unsalted butter, for the tin
180 g whole brazil nuts
180 g whole pecan nuts

Oceania
Australia
Cake
Birthday
Baking
Vegetarian

Method

Preheat the oven to 140°C/fan 130°C/275°F/gas mark 1. Butter a 20cm, 7.5cm deep square cake tin and line the base with baking parchment. Wrap with a collar of brown paper tied with string.