As may be expected I have a number of good Christmas cake recipes from over the years, from those of the lean war years to those years of plenty.

This was one of my Grandmothers favourites and was brought out at every opportunity. It can also serve as a birthday cake, for those important family birthdays, or a Christening cake.

I myself do not get on well with mixed peel, I find it can be bitter, and so tend to use diced, candied fruits instead.

(Arline Rammell was a radio cook from the mid – late fifties)