Fruit cake is a direct descendent of the pudding. A creamed cake with dried fruit and spices, the main difference being that it is baked in an oven rather than steamed or boiled.

It can take many forms and shapes : loaf, bun, slab, round, square, depending on your prefered form. This one dates from the mid-fifties and is an excellent example of the art. Moist, but firm and loaded with fruit :

 Not one for the faint hearted or ardent slimmers but well worth a try!

Regarding the ‘note’. If all the fruit is tossed in a couple of tablespoons of the flour before adding none of it should sink.

Although the recipe says that it would be fine for a lighter Christmas Cake I have a far better recipe for a proper rich fruit cake that I shall be up-loading later in the year. Closer to the festive season.