I always look forward to Easter weekend. It has felt like a bit of a slog since the last holiday break (Christmas) and still a bit of a way to go until our long summer holidays. This time of the year in Berlin is really special due to a lot of public holidays in May but in my opinion Easter can never come soon enough! In fact, my husband and I value – and need! – the break so much that we now avoid all travel. Instead we stay in Berlin and enjoy a four day weekend of complete rest, nice food and long walks in the fresh air. It is a weekend to recover and relax and I cannot wait for next weekend!
I always make the effort to get some Cadbury’s Cream Eggs and Hot Cross Bun’s in. I also stick to the tradition of cooking a roast lamb dinner on Easter Sunday. But it is also a weekend for baking and is exactly why each year I make this Cointreau Fruit Cake. I originally started off making this as a recipe test for a simnel cake. I really enjoy a simnel cake as it’s purpose is to be lighter than a christmas fruit cake but I am really not a fan of marzipan. In fact, I hate it! I just can’t stand the thick slab of marzipan coating the cake. Yet I do love a well made fruit cake and is exactly why I make this Cointreau Fruit Cake every Easter. I leave the marzipan out but if you want to go really traditional then you can of course simply add this as layer on top of the cake. I grate the zest of an orange and lemon and mix it with some sultanas and glacé cherries before leaving it all to soak in some cointreau. The cake batter itself is rather simple by using the standard base of eggs, flour, butter and sugar. I use a mix of caster sugar and soft brown sugar.
If only every weekend could be filled with roast dinners, chocolate eggs and cake! Here’s to a relaxing and delicious Easter weekend coming up!
- 1 tbpsn baking powder
- 150g butter
- 3 large eggs
- 70g caster sugar
- 50g soft brown sugar
- 300g plain white flour
- 150g glacé cherries (halved)
- 250g sultanas
- Finely grated peel of one orange
- Finely grated peel of one lemon
- Flaked almonds (about 1 tbpsn)
- 1 tspn ground cinnamon
- 2 tbpsn cointreau
- Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 3/160ºC/fan 140ºC. Line a loaf tin.
- Add the sultanas, cherries, lemon peel, orange peel and cointreau to mixing bowl. Mix together and leave to one side.
- Using an electric whisk if possible, whisk the butter and caster/ brown sugar together. Then beat in the eggs. Fold in the flour, cinnamon and baking powder and using a wooden spoon mix and stir until everything is well combined and you have a thick batter.
- Then add the bowl of fruit to the batter and mix again until everything is well combined.
- Pour the mixture into the cake tin and then scatter a few flaked almonds on top. Bake for around 55 mins/ 1 hour.
- Leave to cool before taking it out of the tin.
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