175g/6oz sultanas
175g/6oz raisins
100g/4oz currants
50g/2oz glacé cherries chopped
275ml/½pint cold tea
200g/7oz polyunsaturated margarine
50g/2oz ground almonds
275g/10oz wholemeal flour
2x5ml sp/2tsp baking powder
2x5ml sp/2tsp mixed spice
3 size 3 eggs beaten
grated rind of one lemon
50g/2oz blanched almonds chopped

1. Put all the dried fruit into a bowl, cover it with the cold tea and leave the fruit to plump up overnight.

2. Cream the margarine and ground almonds until the mixture has lightened in colour. Sieve the flour, baking powder and mixed spice into a bowl and gradually add the eggs and half the flour mixture to the creamed mixture. Fold in the lemon rind and mixed nuts. Carefully fold the remaining flour intothe fruit mixture to make a soft dropping consistency.
Pour the mixture into a greased and lined 20cm/8inch cake tin.

3 Bake the cake at 325ºF/170ºC/gas mark 4 for one hour.
Then reduce the heat to 275ºF/140ºC/gas mark1 for a further 1-1¼hours. Cover the top of the cake with greaseproof paper if it is browning too quickly.
Test the cake in the usual way to see if it is done. When done leave in the tin to cool before turning out.
To store the cake wrap in foil or leave it one day to mature and then freeze