Baking Mad with Eric Lanlard

Eric Lanlard's fruit loaf recipe from Baking Mad with Eric Lanlard is laced with chocolate ale, fruit and spices

Makes 1 loaf

• 390g mixed dry fruit
• 250ml bottle chocolate ale (or strong ale)
• 100g dark muscovado sugar
• 85g self-raising flour
• 100g wholemeal self-raising flour
• 3 tsp ground mixed spice
• 2 eggs, beaten
• Apricot jam, to glaze

1. Put the dried fruit into a large pan and cover with the bottled ale. Gently heat the fruit until the ale is hot, but not boiling. Remove from the heat, cover and preferably leave overnight.

2. When you are ready to cook the loaf, preheat the oven to 140°C/fan 120°C fan/gas mark 1, and grease a 25 x 11cm loaf tin with butter.

3. Add the sugar, flours, mixed spice and eggs to the fruit mixture. Stir well until all the ingredients are combined.

4. Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf tin and bake in the preheated oven for 1¼ hours until risen, pale brown and firm to the touch. Take the loaf out of the tin and leave on a wire rack to cool, still in its tin.

5. Gently heat some apricot jam in a saucepan. Remove the loaf from the tin and use a pastry brush to glaze with the jam. Keep the loaf in a cool dry place. It is delicious toasted and buttered with raspberry jam or served with a piece of strong mature cheese.