Bake something to give away

We've already established that I love to bake. My friend's mother died last week, and she has a new baby and a two-year-old at home, so I thought I'd bring her some home baking. My sister-in-law and 6-month-old nephew also arrived home today after 3 1/2 weeks in Finland, so it's time to bake, and with this recipe I can kill two birds with one stone. Goal #79 - Bake something to give away. :-)

This recipe for fruit loaf is my mother's and I remember her making it when we were children. I use sultanas or raisins for the fruit, but almost anything goes. The loaves are cooked in two stages, ie ingredients are boiled and left to cool before baking later, so it's a good idea to plan to make this in two parts (eg morning and afternoon). Having said that, it's very easy to make and tastes even better on the second day (if there's any left!).

Fruit loaf

Ingredients

• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground cloves
• 1 tsp mixed spice
• 450g mixed fruit (or sultanas)
• 3 cups water
• 2 cups sugar
• 85g butter
• 4 cups flour
• 2tsp baking soda
  

Method

1. Place cinnamon, ground cloves, mixed spice, mixed fruit, water, sugar and butter in a saucepan and boil for ten minutes. Leave to cool for at least 1 hour.
2. Add flour and baking soda and mix well.
3. Put mixture into two greased loaf tins.
4. Bake in pre-heated oven at 160 degrees Celsius for 1 hour.