The National Trust have created their version of the fruit cake, inspired by Mrs Landemare's original recipe which Churchill would have enjoyed. Georgina Landemare cooked for the Churchill family from 1939 throughout the duration of the war, until she retired in 1954. During the war period, meals were often created using the most basic of ingredients as part of the rationing era. According to Mrs Landemare, Churchill was an 'incredibly fussy eater' but she was often able to produce something delicious that satisfied his appetite for 'simple' British food. Such was the impact of her cooking, on VE night Churchill actually thanked Mrs Landemare for her efforts by saying that he "could not have managed throughout the war without her cooking".
If you don’t have any glacé cherries in your cupboard, use dried apricots or mixed nuts instead. Black treacle is used to add a rich darkness and flavour to the cake, but it is not essential to the recipe as, without it, the cake will simply have a lighter finish – with the same delicious taste.
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