Gabi Froden: On dried fruit in Cakes

Christmas pudding, Christmas cake, Wedding cake. Sometimes, there is alcohol involved and the pudding is set alight to delighted screams from around the table. Most of the time, nothing is set ablaze, and the puddings and cakes are enjoyed with a good old-fashioned cup of tea.

But these baked goods are all pretty much the same, right? I am not deluded?

Dried fruit features in all celebratory cakes here in Britain as well as the fruit scone and fruit loaf for your elevenses. Not to mention the mince pies sold in every shop from October and devoured greedily at every opportunity for months leading up to Christmas.

Britain is a stodgy country. All the traybakes, the sandwiches and afternoon teas. It is all lovely and comforting and very vintage. I just wish there were some rules around the dried fruit. Perhaps it doesn’t have to be in absolutely everything? And perhaps the Brits could admit that all the celebration cakes are one and the same instead of being extra excited when the Christmas pudding comes out after having just had a slice of Christmas cake. You are eating the same thing twice. Thrice if someone is getting married around New Year…

I am sure it stems from a laudable tradition of preservation, but sweet lord, I am so sick of sultanas, raisins, cherries and apricots baked into cake. The sharp sweetness, the chewy weirdness.

Give me a good old princess cake for my celebrations. Fresh cream and light sponge. Pretty rose on the top. I will chomp on tray bakes and have second helpings of all the iced buns, but if I never see a raisin baked into a cake again, I will be ok with that.