Place all the dried fruits into a bowl and mix with the brandy, orange zest and juice. Cover and leave at room temperature to macerate for a minimum of 12 hours. If you’re leaving it for longer, move the mixture to the fridge.

When you’re ready to bake the cake, preheat the oven to 150°C. Grease two small 16cm cake tins and line the base and sides with a double layer of baking paper.

Place the cake mix in a large bowl with the eggs, butter and milk and beat with an electric hand mixer until smooth. Gently fold in the macerated fruit mixture and the walnuts until well combined.

Divide the batter between the prepared tins and spread evenly with the back of a spoon. Gently dot a ring of blanched almonds around the edge of the cakes (or leave them plain if covering with fondant icing – see Tips).

Bake for 30 minutes at 150°C, then reduce the heat to 140°C and bake for another 30-45 mins or until cooked through when tested with a skewer. If your cake is looking a little dark on top, loosely cover with a piece of foil.

While the cakes are still slightly warm, pierce all over with a skewer and dress with some extra brandy (the amount is up the you). Allow to cool completely.

The cakes can be enjoyed straight away, or you can wrap them in two layers of baking paper and two layers of tin foil to age. Brush/Drizzle the cakes with some mroe brandy once or twice before Christmas.

Tips: To blanch your own almonds, soak whole raw almonds in boiling water for a few minutes to make the skins easy to peel off. Drain, remove the skins and place on paper towel to air dry. 

If you want to cover your cakes in fondant to finish, spread a thin layer of apricot jam over the cakes first to help the fondant stick.