Cognac Fruit Cake

I chanced upon this recipe in iweekly supplement 23 Dec 10 issue. The recipe was from Chef Ivan Liew, who started his baking career in 2000. Hotels and restaurants that he worked at included Les Amis, The Bakery Depot, Conrad Hotel, Shangri-La Hotel, etc. Last year, he joined Mandarin Hotel as Pastry Chef. According from the quote in iweekly, "the longer you soaked the mixed fruits in liquor , the longer is the shelf life of the cake. Soak for 1 week, and the cake can last up to 1 month."

Ingredients:

• 200g butter
• 150g brown sugar
• 4 eggs
• 200g flour
• 300ml rum wine (I didn't have rum at home, so I replaced this with cognac)
• 300g dried fruit soaked in the rum wine for at least 1 day
• apricot glase (I skipped this step for my mini cakes)
• water (adequate)

Steps:

1. Cream the butter and brown sugar in a mixer.
2. Add egges and flour (sieved)
3. Add the rum mixer with dried fruits. Mix well.
4. Bake at 170 degree celsius for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Note shorter baking time for mini cakes.
5. (Optional) Boil the apricot glaze with water, portion 3:1. Once boiled, apply the apricot glaze on top of the cake, decorate with dried cherry and almond nuts.