Ingredients

Step by step

1. Combine all the fruit in a saucepan with the alcohol. Place over a medium heat, bringing to a gentle boil. Remove from the heat, cover and leave for a few hours, ideally overnight (or much longer – up to a year!). Blitz everything in a food processor to a thick paste. Set aside.
2. Combine all the fruit in a saucepan with the alcohol. Place over a medium heat, bringing to a gentle boil. Remove from the heat, cover and leave for a few hours, ideally overnight (or much longer – up to a year!). Blitz everything in a food processor to a thick paste. Set aside.
3. Preheat the oven to 160°C, fan 140°C, gas 3. Grease and line two 23cm loose-bottomed cake tins with baking paper. To make the cakes, put the butter and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat for 4 minutes, or until pale and aerated. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and adding a little flour if it starts to curdle. Beat in the extracts.
4. Whisk together the flour, baking powder and spices, then beat this into the batter in two parts, until just combined. Add the fruit mixture along with 4 tablespoons of the browning and beat again until combined. Scrape the batter into the lined cake tins and smooth the top using a spatula. Transfer to the oven and bake for 1 hour 40 minutes, or until a toothpick or skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. If it doesn’t come out clean, bake for a further 5 minutes.
5. Remove from the oven to wire racks and, keeping the cakes in their tins, pierce them all over. Combine the cherry brandy and rum, then brush over the surface of the cakes. Leave for 20 minutes, then brush again. Repeat this twice more, or until you have 2 tablespoons of the mixture left. Carefully remove the cakes from the tins and brush the sides of the cakes with the remaining mixture. Wrap in baking paper, then foil, and leave for at least 3-4 days before eating.