Spiced rum butter mincemeat cake

Method

1. Tie a thick, wide band of folded newspaper around the outside of the tin. Fold another wad of newspaper into a pad to fit under the tin and put it on a baking sheet. Heat the oven to 160°C/140°C fan/gas 3 and position one of the oven racks on the bottom rung of the oven.
2. Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and spice into a large mixing bowl (or the large bowl of a stand mixer). Add the ground almonds, softened butter, sugar and eggs and beat for about 1 minute with an electric hand mixer (or in a stand mixer) until thoroughly mixed. Stir in the rum butter mincemeat, mixed dried fruit, glacé cherries, stem ginger and chopped almonds.
3. Spoon the mixture into the prepared cake tin and level the surface with the back of the spoon.
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4. Tear off a double thickness sheet of non-stick baking paper, large enough to cover the top of the tin generously, then cut a hole in the centre about the size of a £2 coin. Put the cake on top of the wad of newspaper, then slide the tray into the oven on the bottom shelf. Lay the sheet of non-stick baking paper over the top of the tin and bake for 2 hours or until a skewer pushed into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
5. Leave the cake to cool in the tin on a wire cooling rack. When it’s completely cold, remove from the tin and peel away the baking paper (see Get Ahead). Wrap tightly in non-stick baking paper and foil and store in an airtight tin, feeding with rum every week if you want to. Store in a cool, dry place until ready to add marzipan and ice the cake.