I don’t like fruit cake, never have. But I do like this cake, and it’s a great alternative to Christmas cake. My late Auntie Laney made this regularly, and I’ve updated her recipe to include organic and fair trade ingredients. So let’s put on that apron and get into the kitchen for a spot of pre-Christmas baking.

Auntie Laney’s Tealoaf

500g organic self-raising flour
250g organic raisins
250g organic sultanas
1 cup organic fair trade sugar
100g organic almonds, chopped
1 slab of fair trade dark chocolate, chopped
3 free-range organic eggs
1 cup fresh fair trade tea

Soak the raisins and sultanas in the tea overnight. Beat the eggs and sugar until fluffy. Add the egg and sugar mixture to the soaked fruit and mix well. Add chopped almonds and chocolate. Lastly, add the flour and mix in well.

Put the mixture into a well greased loaf pan and bake in a pre-heated oven at 200′C/400′F/gas mark 6 for 1 hour. If the cake starts going a little too brown on top for your liking, cover it with some recycled aluminium foil.

Cool, slice and serve.