This recipe was supplied by Judy Williamson of Silsden, West Yorkshire. Judy writes:

As the name suggests, this recipe was given to me by my grandmother and has been handed down in the family for at least four generations.  This makes a lovely foolproof and light fruit cake which we use at Christmas, birthdays, anytime! It is easy to increase the ingredients and cooking time for larger cakes and icing it makes it a good ‘occasion’ cake.

Ingredients

• 8 oz (225 g) self-raising flour
• 4 oz (113 g) caster sugar
• 12 oz (340 g) mixed dried fruit
• 2 medium eggs, not beaten
• 4 oz (113 g) melted margarine
• 1 teaspoon mixed spices
• Quarter teaspoon of ground nutmeg
• Pinch of salt
• 3 – 4 drops of vanilla essence
• 1 oz ground almonds
• 6 fl oz milk

Method

1. Pre-heat oven to a slow temperature: gas mark 2 (150 C/ 300 F)
2. Grease a 6 inch round baking tin and line it with grease-proof paper
3. In the order shown above in ‘Ingredients’, put all (or ‘toss’) the ingredients one after the other into a mixing bowl, but for the moment, keep back the milk
4. Beat the ingredients together by hand for 4-5 minutes and add the milk a little at a time until a dropping consistency is formed – you may not need the full amount of milk
5. Turn the mixture into the cake tin. If required, for a crunchy topping, sprinkle a little Demerara sugar on the top
6. Bake in the slow oven for about 2 hours
7. Check to see it is cooked by piercing the centre with a skewer, which should come out clean.