Jan's Chocolate Fruit Cake

Ingredients

375g sultanas
200g glace cherries
100g dried apricots, diced
150g dark chocolate, chopped
¾ cup brown sugar
185g butter
1 cup sherry

4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 ¾ cups plain flour
¼ cup SR flour
½ tsp bicarb soda
2 tsp sherry, extra
100g choc bits

Method

1. Mix the fruit, brown sugar and sherry in a large bowl. Cover and allow to stand overnight.
2. Preheat the oven to 140 ^oC. Line a 25cm square tin with at least 3 layers of baking paper, to reduce burning. Make sure that the paper is at least as high as the tin.
3. Add the chocolate and butter to the steeped fruit, and heat gently until the chocolate and butter are just melted.
4. Fold in the eggs, the flours, bicarb soda, extra sherry and choc bits into the fruit mixture.
5. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 2 hours.
6. Drizzle 1/2 cup sherry over the cake when it is removed from the oven.
7. When cold, wrap in several lavers of cling wrap so it can be opened later, and store in an airtight container.