Golden Fruit Cake

1. Line the base and sides of 2, 10 x 20cm loaf pans, or 4, 6 x 12cm mini loaf pans.
2. For topping choice Rum ‘n Raisin, combine raisins, rum and cinnamon in a bowl and set aside until required.
3. Place chocolate in a glass bowl and heat in the microwave in 30 second increments until half chocolate is melted. Stir chocolate constantly until all the chocolate is melted.
4. Pour chocolate evenly between pans and whilst still in melted form, working quickly, decorate with preferred toppings. Allow to set at room temperature and store in an airtight container when set. Wrap and give away as gifts.

Preheat oven to 160⁰C. Grease and line a 20cm round cake tin.

1. Bring to the boil mixed fruit, sugar, syrup, butter and apricot nectar, stirring all the time and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and add bicarbonate of soda. Allow mixture to cool.
2. Add eggs and pumpkin. Beat till smooth. Then add flours and mix well to combine.
3. Place in tin and bake for 90 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.

Beat the butter and sugar until creamy, approximately 2-3 minutes, add the sifted flour, when almost combined add the sultanas, choc chips & continue to beat with the flat beaters until a firm dough is obtained, be aware that it does take time to bring it together. If you knead by hand it will take approximately 4 minutes of kneading.
Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for 30-60 minutes or even overnight.
Remove the dough from the fridge, and if very firm, gently knead, place the dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper and roll to ¼ inch thickness, cut out with your feastive cookie cutters, place on the prepared cookie sheets. Refrigerate the cookies while the oven is pre-heating, for about 15 minutes.
Pre-heat the oven to 160C. Line 1 or 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Bake the cookies for approximately 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, let sit 2-3 minutes on the cookie sheet then move to a wire rack to cool completely.
Enjoy!

1. Preheat oven to 170ºC. Place raisins, sultanas and rum in a bowl and set to one side.
2. Cream butter and brown sugar, until light and fluffy.
3. Beat in eggs one at a time beating well after each addition.
4. Sift flours, mixed spice and cinnamon.
5. Add breadcrumbs, finely chopped hazelnuts, chocolate, buttermilk, rum soaked fruit and butter mixture and mix well to combine.
6. Prepare 8 pudding basins (200ml capacity): spray pudding basins with oil and line the bottom with baking paper.
7. Divide evenly between prepared pudding basins.

Steaming Instructions
Place basins into a baking dish, and pour in enough boiling water to ½ fill the baking dish, cover with foil. Steam bake for 1 hour. Remove foil and bake for a further 20 minutes.

Microwave Instructions
Cook in microwave on defrost setting (300W) for 15 minutes, check if a skewer inserted into pudding comes out clean. If not cooked, microwave at 5 minute intervals, until skewer comes out clean. Stand for 10 minutes before turning out. Repeat with remaining mixture. (Note: Do not use foil in microwave).