Ring fruitcake

Preheat the oven to 140 °C and line a 30 cm ring cake tin with a layer of aluminium foil. Spray well with non-stick spray or butter lightly.
Mix the fruit in a fairly large saucepan and add the water. Cover and simmer gently for 10 minutes so the fruit can swell up. Remove from the heat, stir in the butter until melted and leave to cool.
Beat the eggs and sugar together and add to the cooled fruit. Sift the cake flour, spices, cocoa, bicarbonate of soda and salt together and fold into the fruit. Mix the glacé; cherries and nuts.
Turn half the batter into the cake tin and sprinkle with half the cherry mixture. Turn the remaining batter into the tin and sprinkle the remaining cherry mixture on top.
Wrap the cake tin in a sheet of aluminium foil and bake for 1 1/2 hours. Reduce the heat to 120 °C and bake for another 1 1/2 hours. Remove the aluminium foil 30 minutes before the end of the baking time.
Remove the cake from the oven and pour the brandy over while the cake is still hot. Cover lightly and cool completely.
Slice and serve as a dessert or with tea.
Makes a large cake.