You need to begin this cake the night before you want to bake it.

Place all the fruit in a large bowl and mix in 2 tablespoons of brandy.

Cover the bowl and leave overnight, or for 12 hours, for the fruit to “plump up” and absorb the alcohol.

Linda’s note: a container with a lid works well.

Prepare baking pan(s)

English method – grease the pan and line with parchment paper

You need to line your cake tin using a double strip of silicone (parchment) paper, cut slightly longer than the circumference of the tin. Fold back 1 inch along its length and snip this at intervals, cutting at a slight angle to the fold.

Grease pan then press the paper around the sides – it should sit comfortably around the sides of the tin. Finally, cut a double circle of paper – using the pan as a template – to fit the base and press into place.

Linda’s note: The American method – grease the pan and dust with flour

worked well however, I still like to use a circle of parchment on the bottom to be absolutely sure the cake does not stick to the bottom of the pan.

Brown paper is then tied around the outside of the tin, to protect the cake during the long, slow cooking.

Linda’s note: The Brown paper does make a difference and I have not found a successful substitute.

To make the cake you will need butter, at room temperature, and the brown sugar. Using the classic creaming method, cream together the soft butter and the sugar until light, pale and fluffy.

Lightly beat eggs and add a little at a time, to the creamed mixture. It can sometimes happen that the beaten eggs are added to the sugar-and-fat mixture too quickly, causing the whole mixture to separate. This breaking-up means that some of the air incorporated at the creaming stage will escape and the finished cake will be slightly heavier. (If the mixture starts to curdle beat in a spoonful of flour).

When all the egg has been added, sift in the flour together with the nutmeg and spice. Use gentle cutting and folding movements to incorporate this into the mixture to keep in as much air as possible.

Add the soaked fruit to the cake mixture, along with the nuts.  Fold in using the same movements as before.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and smooth the top with the back of the spoon.

Finally, cover the top of the cake with a double sheet of silicone (parchment) paper with a Quarter-sized hole in the centre. It is now ready for the oven – bake on the lowest shelf of the oven. Sometimes it can take up to ½-¾ hour longer than this, but don't look until the initial cooking time has passed.

It is here that a cookery writer steps into a minefield. First of all, conventional ovens do vary and it is worth having them tested every now and again. Second, it is quite possible to make exactly the same cake (and I have had this confirmed by someone who makes at least a dozen each year for presents) and to find each one cooking in a slightly different time. On top of that there are fan-assisted ovens, which are a law unto themselves! To the beginner I can only say that no timing for a rich fruit cake can be absolutely precise, and be prepared for a Christmas cake to vary even up to an hour either way.

So to test if your cake is done, lightly press the centre of the cake with your little finger – it should spring back and not leave an impression. The cracks, by the way, will close up as the cake cools. Allow the cake to cool for 30 minutes before remove it to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Several times before Christmas you can 'feed' your cake – make small holes in the top and base of the cake with a cocktail stick or fine skewer, then spoon over a few teaspoons of brandy. (I get a number of letters from people who never touch alcohol, so let me say that freshly squeezed orange juice can be substituted for the booze in the recipe.) I like to wrap the cake in a double layer of silicone (parchment) paper, then in double foil, before storing it in an airtight container.