Dinner with friends chez moi

Earlier this month, I had some friends over so I cooked dinner. It was also a pretext to try my new fruit cake recipe...

Starters: hybrid melon (between musk and yellow-skinned) with a crisp and subtle flavour goes well with smoked salmon, a squeeze of lemon and a drizzle of olive oil, plus a sprinkle of fleur de sel.

 Entrée: Baked lemon-herb chicken with its jus, served on a bed of celery gratin.

 Salad of cherry tomatoes with mustard vinaigrette and lemon basil.

Fruit cake served with strawberry jam.

For the cake:

4 eggs

250 g butter (unsalted) at room temperature

assortement of dried fruits and citrus peel (I used cranberries, dark raisins, pineapple, appricot, ginger confit and orange peel soaked overnight in white wine or any liqueur)

dash of liqueur

2 1/2 cups of flour

Sugar to preference ( I used a cup)

pinch of salt

1 tsp baking flour

1 tsp baking soda

2 tbsp Orange flower water

Cream the butter with the sugar. Add the eggs, liqueur, orange flower water. Sift in the flour with the baking powder and baking soda. If the mixture is too thick, it can be slightly thinned with milk or fruit juice. Add the fruit mixture, stir well and pour onto a buttered baking can. Put the cake batter into a preheat oven and bake for 40 minutes under medium heat until done.