FRUIT CAKE

Ingredients
1 cup water
½ cup fat free milk
½ cup soft margarine
½ cup sultanas
250g packet dried apricot halves, roughly chopped
250g packet dried prunes, pitted
250g packet dried peach halves, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons currants
½ cup white sugar
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
¼ teaspoon salt
10 pecan nut halves, chopped
¾ cup cake flour
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
⅓ cup oat bran
1 cup wholewheat pronutro
1 medium apple, peeled and finely grated
1 large egg
½ teaspoon almond essence
1 egg white beaten

Method

• In a large saucepan, place the water, milk, margarine, fruit, sugar bicarbonate of soda, salt and nuts. Simmer over low heat for 20 minutes.
• Remove from the heat, pour into a large bowl and allow to cool completely.
• Pre-heat the oven to 160ºC.
• Sift the flour, bicarbonate and baking powder over the cooled mixture.
• Add the oat bran, whole-wheat pronutro and the grated apple and mix gently with a wooden spoon.
• Beat the egg and almond essence together and add the batter.
• Whisk the egg white and fold it into the mixture.
• Spoon the batter into a non-stick baking pan and bake for 2 hours or until the skewer comes out clean.
• Allow to cool completely, store in an airtight container or cover with foil and store for 2 days in the fridge before eating.

Nutritional Analysis per serving:
Energy: 984 kJ
Carbohydrates: 35g
Protein: 4g
Fat: 6.6g
Monounsaturated: 1.9g
Polyunsaturated: 2.9g
Saturated: 1.1g
Cholesterol: 11mg
Fibre: 4.8g
Sodium: 392mg     

DID YOU KNOW? Pecan nuts are rich in mono-unsaturated fats. These fats help to lower high cholesterol level-an important risk factor for the development of cardiovascular disease.