Yoghurt Fruit Cake

I came across this Yoghurt Fruit Cake recipe in a magazine some time back which I've wrote down in my notebook as I've never seen a fruit cake recipe that uses yoghurt and nary a spice was added. Capt'n Hook had always like his fruit cake to be super moist. Knowing that yoghurt in cakes will produce a moist cake, hence I set out to try out this recipe recently. The original recipe called for just golden raisins and cranberries but since I have a lot more of stuff in my fridge, I set out adding more fruits and some nuts as well.

We're quite pleased with the outcome and would be great for this festive Chinese new year. Here's my version of the recipe. Kindly excuse the weird numbers of the weights as I've gotten them converted to metric.

Yoghurt Fruit Cake

(A)

90g golden raisins, roughly chopped
30g cranberries, roughly chopped
30g dried apricots, roughly chopped
30g mixed peel
Zest from 1 orange or lemon
3 tbsp brandy or rum or cointreau

150g butter
70g sugar
170g flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
3 eggs
6 tbsp plain yoghurt
1 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
Handful of toasted walnuts, break into halves or quarters (sorry I forgot to measure :p)


1. Mix (A) thoroughly, place in an air tight container and leave overnight in the fridge.

2. Sift flour, baking powder and salt together. Leave aside.

3. Cream butter and sugar till fluffy. Then add in eggs one at a time, mix well before adding vanilla essence.

4. Fold in flour, alternating with yoghurt. Mix in dried fruits mixture and walnuts.

5. Pour batter in 9x4x3 inch loaf pan. Level surface and make a slight depression in the middle.

6. Bake in pre-heated oven 160ºC for 20 - 25 minutes until golden brown. Test with skewer which should come out clean. Remove from oven and leave to cool for about 5 minutes before turning out to cooling rack.

7. Once cake has cool down, turn over and prick holes all over cake with skewer. Brush or pour small amount of brandy or rum or cointreau. Wrap with one layer of cling wrap followed by foil. Keep in the fridge for a few days for the cake to mature before eating.


Tip: It would be easier to slice a fruit cake while it's cold with a serrated knife rather than room temperature.