Soak the fruits first. This step isn’t optional if you want depth. Mix the dried fruits and nuts with orange juice or rum, cover, and leave them alone for at least 24 hours. Longer soaking—up to a week—does make a difference.

Line your cake tin properly. Fruit cakes burn easily. Preheat the oven to 160°C.

Cream the butter and brown sugar until the mixture looks lighter and slightly fluffy. Don’t rush this—it affects the texture later.

Add the eggs one at a time. If the batter looks slightly curdled, don’t panic. It usually fixes itself once flour goes in.

Sift together flour, baking powder, spices, and salt. Fold this in gently. Overmixing here makes the cake tough.

Stir in the soaked fruits along with any remaining liquid.

Transfer to the tin and bake slowly for about 2 hours. If the top darkens too quickly, loosely cover it with foil.

Cool the cake completely and let it rest overnight before slicing. The flavour settles as it rests.