Celebrate 10 Years of the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency with an Irresistible Fruit Cake
It all began with a rather amiable African woman, Precious Ramotswe, who starts a detective agency and devotes herself to solving mysteries and helping people with the problems in their lives. Along the way, Precious is joined by Grace Makutsi (97 percent on her secretarial exams) and Precious’s mechanic husband (he can’t resist fruit cake). After ten years we’re profoundly grateful to all the wise and wonderful fans of the series, and we’d like to thank you with a recipe no man, woman, or child could resist:
Mma Potokwani’s Fruit Cake
INGREDIENTS
170g / 6oz unsalted butter, softened
170g / 6oz caster sugar
Grated zest of 1 orange (or a teaspoon of marmalade)
4 medium eggs
60g / 2oz ground almonds
170g / 6oz plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon mixed spice
340g / 12oz dried fruit (this can be a mixture of raisins, sultanas, currants etc)
60g / 2oz mixed peel
1 tablespoon water
Pre-heat the oven to 150C / 330F / Gas mark 2. Cream together the butter, sugar and orange zest (or marmalade) until light and fluffy, then beat in the eggs, one at a time, adding a little of the flour if the mixture starts to curdle.
Sieve in the flour, baking powder and spices, then add the ground almonds and fold everything together. Stir in the dried fruit and mixed peel, then add the water until the mixture is a soft consistency.
Grease and line an 18cm / 7in cake tin. Spoon mixture into tin and smooth the top of it. Bake for about 1 and a half to 2 hours, until cooked through.
Cool in tin before turning out cake. Serve to your friends with a cup of Red Bush Tea! Download the recipe card (helpful tip: the card contains conversions to liquid measurements!)
Written by Alexander McCall Smith
In this latest episode in the beloved, best-selling series, the kindest and best detective in Botswana faces a tricky situation when her personal and professional lives become entangled.
Buy the Book: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Powell’s | Indiebound | Random House | Buy the eBook: Google ebookstore | iBookstore | Kindle | Nook
Written by Alexander McCall Smith
Have you ever said to yourself, Wouldn’t it be nice to be a detective?
This is the story of an African girl who says just that.
Her name is Precious.
When a piece of cake goes missing from her classroom, a traditionally built young boy is tagged as the culprit. Precious, however, is not convinced. She sets out to find the real thief. Along the way she learns that your first guess isn’t always right. She also learns how to be a detective.
Buy the Book: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Powell’s | Random House | Buy the eBook: Google ebookstore | iBookstore | Kindle | Nook
Written by Alexander McCall Smith
In this latest installment, Precious Ramotswe faces two confounding cases: the mysterious fate of some cows, and the ghost-like reappearance of her dear old white van.
Buy the Book: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-A-Million | Powell’s | Random House | Buy the eBook: Google ebookstore | iBookstore | Kindle | Nook