Fruit cake: All the tips and tricks you'll want to know

You’ll need:

Round cake tin
Baking paper
Brown paper
Ruler
Scissors
String
Melted butter

Step 1
Cut a strip of baking paper that is slightly longer than the circumference of the tin and is double its height. Fold the paper up 2.5cm along its length. Undo the fold and snip as deep as the crease you have just made, cutting it about 2.5cm apart along the fold. This will create a fanned edge.

Step 2
Grease the tin with melted butter. Press the paper around the sides of the tin placing the fanned edge in its base. Make sure there are no air bubbles – it should fit flush with the tin’s base and sides.

Step 3
Using the tin as a template cut two circles of baking paper to fit into the base. Press both the paper circles into the base of the tin.

Step 4
Tie brown paper around the outside of the tin and secure with string. This will protect the cake during the long cooking process.

Step 5
Spoon the mixture into the tin. Cover the top of the cake tin with two sheets of baking paper with a 3 cm diameter hole cut into the centre. These pieces will sit loosely above the tin and will prevent the top of the cake from browning too much.

Tips and tricks

The easiest way to measure the circumference of the tin is using a piece of string.
To measure the cake tin base, sit the tin on the paper and use a pencil to draw around it. Cut out the circle.
To grease the tin’s base and sides, use melted butter and a pastry brush. Alternatively rub some melted butter around the tin using a piece of baking paper. Either way, make sure it is a very thin layer.