Easy Boiled Fruit Cake

This old-fashioned boiled fruit cake is loaded with juicy fruit and chopped nuts. The steam and bake cooking method in the Ninja Speedi is absolutely foolproof!

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So, I am officially obsessed with Ninja kitchen appliances, and yes, I have a LOT of them! 😀 

I love my Ninja Foodi Max 15-in-1, but ever since getting the Speedi, I’ve found myself only using it for pressure cooking.

I am totally obsessed with the Ninja Speedi 10-in-1 😍 I've used it so much since I got it.

I recently broke my ankle, so it works out well since I can’t stand for long periods.

This machine can make a whole meal in 15 minutes - yep, 15 minutes and all in one pot too!

If there's anything you want to know, just ask me about all things Ninja, just leave a comment below or follow my A Glug of Oil Facebook page for recipes.

It's worth noting that the American version of the Speedi has a couple of different functions, including Sous Vide - I wish the UK version had the same.

I have a dedicated sous vide machine (water oven), and I’m pretty sure it’s better than the Ninja one since it’s top-of-the-line and specifically designed for sous vide cooking.

Anyway, back to the boiled fruit cake!

Boiled fruit cake is hardly a new concept, with endless recipes offering their own unique spins. I followed the Ninja recipe for the main cooking method, but for the ingredients, I added my own personal twist.😉

In my opinion, a good fruit cake needs chopped nuts, so I added them in! A boiled fruit cake doesn’t mean you boil the cake itself—it’s the fruit that’s boiled at the start. The fruit absorbs the liquid, becoming soft, plump, and moist.

I love classic recipes like traditional bread pudding, but this is a much more modern approach to cooking. Next, I might just try making bread pudding in the Speedi!

Anyway, I'd read of too many people saying the Ninja recipe didn't work as their cake wasn't cooked in the middle. So, do read my top tips below.

Recipe top tips!

Firstly, it's important to know how the Ninja Speedi works.

Once your cake is in the Ninja and you’ve added water to the cooking pot to create steam, you’re ready to start cooking.

It's quite shocking to read that many people don't think it's necessary to add water and then wonder why their cake didn't cook. 😟

• The cake needs to go into the unit after adding water and before pressing, selecting Steam/Bake.

• The unit will steam for approx. 20 minutes BEFORE the countdown timer begins. This is part of the cooking process and cooking time, so your cake or whatever you're steaming must go in at the very start.

• I found cooking for 35 minutes works rather than 30 minutes as stated in the Ninja Kitchen recipe.

• Use plain flour instead of self-raising flour to prevent the fruit from sinking. Be sure to add bicarbonate of soda as directed in the recipe.

• I always use Homepride flour as it's already sieved, so it makes baking much easier.

• Some people think this is like a traditional Christmas cake that can be made weeks in advance of Christmas, but it's far too moist, and it would certainly go mouldy if made too far in advance. 

• It will keep for 4 days if wrapped well in cling film and in a cool place.

• My recipe isn’t the same as the one on the Ninja Kitchen website because I just can’t, for the life of me, follow a recipe. 😄

• I soaked the fruit in a bit of brandy. 😉  Much better! But you can choose not to soak the fruit if you prefer.

• You can, of course, leave out the nuts, but if you do, add 100g more fruit.

• Make sure your mixture is cool before combining it with the dry ingredients and eggs, or you’ll end up with scrambled eggs!

• If you’re using a 7-inch cake tin, your cake will be deeper, so you might need to bake it for about 40 minutes. Just be sure to check it at the 35-minute mark.

What's the difference between bicarbonate of soda and baking powder?

Sodium bicarbonate and bicarbonate of soda are other names for baking soda. Baking powder is made of baking soda, cream of tartar, and cornstarch.

Baking powder can be substituted for baking soda by tripling the amount of baking powder.

Is cream of tartar baking soda?

The answer is no, cream of tartar is not the same as baking soda, but it is what you add to baking soda to get baking powder. Source: Arm and Hammer

My boiled fruit cake ingredients

• 225g sultanas

• 175g raisins

• 100ml brandy

• 150g unsalted butter - cubed

• 175g soft light brown sugar

• 200ml milk

• 225g plain flour (all-purpose)

• 2½ teaspoons mixed spice

• 1 teaspoon nutmeg

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

• a pinch of salt

• 50g chopped hazelnuts

• 50g chopped almonds

• 2 medium eggs - beaten

• 600ml water

What do we need?

• Ninja Speedi OR any other multicooker that has a Steam/Bake function

• 20cm (8-inch) loose-bottomed cake tin - Make sure your springform tin will fit, as the buckle fastening might make it too large for your appliance!

• Greaseproof - parchment paper or a suitably sized cake tin liner  

• Kitchen foil

• large mixing bowl

• wooden mixing spoon 

Full instructions are in the recipe card below!

Soak the dried fruit in brandy. Add the butter, sugar, and milk to the pot and bring to a boil. By the way, the Ninja Speedi is more grey than blue, so don’t mind the colour in the photo.

Remove the mixture from the pot into a large bowl and allow it to cool completely - the bigger the bowl, the quicker it will be cool. 

Meanwhile, wash out the cooking pot, grease a 22cm (8-inch) cake tin and line the bottom and sides with a circle of baking parchment. 

Add 600ml of water to the pot. Push in the legs on the Cook & Crisp tray, then place the tray in the bottom position in the cooking pot.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, mixed spice, nutmeg and cinnamon, the bicarbonate of soda, a pinch of salt and the nuts.

Add beaten eggs and pour the melted, cooled ingredients into the dry ingredients. Gently stir them together.

Pour into the prepared tin and place it onto the cook and crisp tray.

Close the lid and flip the SmartSwitch to RAPID COOKER. Select STEAM BAKE, set the temperature to 150°C and set the time to 35 minutes.

The unit will steam for approx. 20 minutes BEFORE the countdown timer begins.

Ten minutes before the end of cooking, carefully cover the cake with foil, tucking it around the sides of the tin.

The cake is ready when a cocktail stick inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Allow to cool in the tin for 30 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.

And there we have it - rich and moist boiled fruit cake!

Have you tried this recipe? Please leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ star rating in the recipe card below!

boiled fruit cake recipe, ninja speedi recipe, easy moist fruit cake, easy boiled fruit cake

cake, snack

European

Yield: 8

Author: Jan Bennett

Boiled Fruit Cake Recipe

Old-fashioned boiled fruit and nut cake.

Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 55 MinTotal time: 1 H & 10 M

Ingredients

• 225g sultanas
• 175g raisins
• 100ml brandy
• 150g unsalted butter - cubed
• 175g light soft brown sugar
• 200ml milk
• 225g plain flour
• 2½ teaspoons mixed spice
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• a pinch of salt
• 50g chopped hazelnuts
• 50g skinless almonds - chopped
• 2 medium-sized eggs - lightly beaten
• 600ml water

Instructions

1. Soak the sultanas and raisins in the brandy for 30 minutes.
2. Add the butter, sugar, brandy-soaked fruit and milk to the pot. Flip the SmartSwitch to AIR FRY. Select SEAR/SAUTÉ, set to 4 and press START/STOP to start cooking.
3. Stir every few minutes until the butter is melted and the mixture starts to boil. This may take 5 minutes. Remove the mixture from the pot into a large bowl and allow it to cool completely - the bigger the bowl, the quicker it will cool.
4. Meanwhile, wash out the cooking pot, grease a 22cm (8-inch) cake tin and line the bottom and sides with a circle of baking parchment.
5. Add 600ml of water to the pot. Push in the legs on the Cook & Crisp tray, then place the tray in the bottom position in the cooking pot
6. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, mixed spice, nutmeg and cinnamon, the bicarbonate of soda, a pinch of salt and the chopped nuts.
7. Add beaten eggs, then pour the melted, cooled ingredients into the dry ingredients. Gently stir them together. Pour into the prepared tin and place onto the cook and crisp tray.
8. Close the lid and flip the SmartSwitch to RAPID COOKER. Select STEAM BAKE, set the temperature to 150°C and set the time to 35 minutes.
9. Press START/STOP to begin cooking (the unit will steam for approx. 20 minutes before the countdown timer begins).
10. Ten minutes before the end of cooking, carefully cover the cake with foil, tucking it around the sides of the tin - otherwise it could blow onto the fan above.
11. The cake is ready when you insert a cocktail stick into the centre, and it comes out clean. Allow to cool in the tin for 30 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.

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