Light glace fruit cake

Grease a 20 cm round cake tin or an 18 cm square tin and line with a double thickness of greaseproof paper. Begin the night before by placing the sultanas and brandy in a large mixing bowl. Cover and leave overnight. Next day, pre-heat the oven to 170 °C. Add the rest of the nuts, fruit and peels to the sultanas. In a separate large bowl, whisk the margarine and sugar until pale and fluffy. Beat the eggs in another bowl and gradually add them to the sugar mixture, whisking well after each addition. Then lightly fold in the sifted flour, fruit, nuts etc. Now transfer the mixture to the tin, levelling it off with the back of a spoon and place the tin in the oven so the top of it is more or less in the centre.
Bake the cake for one hour at 170 °C. Then place a double sheet of greaseproof paper over the top of the tin and turn the heat down to 150 °C for a further 2 hours. When it’s done it will shrink away from the sides of the tin and be springy in the center.