Boiled fruit cake

Didn't get time to soak the fruits in rum? Still want to bake a Christmas cake?
Well this is my favourite, easy fruitcake.. where you get to boil the mixed fruits!!

Ingredients
150gm butter or margarine
175 gm sugar
1/3 cup water
175 ml milk
250gm raisins
125 gm sultanas
125gm dates(chopped)
50 gm mixed peel( optional)
250gm plain flour
1/2 tspn cardomom powder
1/2 tspn cinnamon powder
1/4 tspn cloves powder
1/4 t spn nutmeg powder
2 eggs
1/2 tspn sodium bicarbonate

In a sauce pan, boil the sugar with the water. When the sugar has melted, add the butter/margarine, milk and the fruit, heat slowly till the butter has melted, continue heating on med heat for abt 10 mints.( the fruits now look plump and cute!!). remove from fire and cool

Sift the soda, spices and the flour together.( honestly, I never sift the soda and the spices with the flour, I just add that in to the cooled fruit mix and mix it well..I don't have a sieve!.)

Once the fruit mix is cooled, add the flour, and the eggs and mix well.

Pour in to a lined( outside and inside) 7 inch pan

Preheat oven to 150 degrees C(300F)
Bake for about 1 hr, till a tooth pick inserted in to the center of the cake comes out clean.( cooking time varies, according to the type of the oven).

Hint; If you are using the convection part of the microwave to bake a cake, keep a plate (oven proof) full of water under the turn table. This ensures that, the cake will remain moist, during baking