Pineapple christmas cake

• 1.5kg mixed fruit (700g sultana, 500g raisins, 250g currents, 50g mixed peel)
• 450g can crushed pinapple
• 3 cups flour
• 1 t cinnamon, mixed spice
• 1/2 t ground cloves
• 225g butter
• 1 c sugar
• 1/2t vanilla, almond, lemon essences
• 6 large eggs
• up to an extra c of flour
• 50g glace cherries and blanched almonds for decoration

2-3 days before making cake, put mixed fruit in bag with pineapple + juice. Leave in warm place turning occasionally until all juice absorbed. 23cm cake tin (or 2 18cm). Mix spices with flour and set aside. Cream butter, sugar and essences until light and smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time, adding about 2 T of spiced flour with each egg. Toss together fruit and remaining flour. Stir in creamed mixture. Should be just soft enough to drop from hand - add more flour if not. Press mixture into lined tin, leveling top. Bake at 150C for one and a half hours, then 130 for two more hours. Feed with sherry (1/4 c).