Soak the fruit in the L&P, golden syrup, spices and essences overnight.

Line a cake tin with baking paper and wrap 4 sheets of newspaper around the outside of the tin. Tie with ovenproof string or wool. Preheat the oven to 150C.

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat eggs in one at a time. Then add sifted flour and baking powder, then the fruit and fold until just combined.

Now, this is when the magic happens. Clean and wrap in tinfoil enough coins for everyone in your family to be able to make a wish. Blindfold the kids with a tea towel (the dirty one smelling like cake batter and spices is good). Give them one coin each and tell them to hold it tight and make a wish. Now place the coin in the batter and stir it in. The story goes that if you get your coin when you eat a piece of cake, your wish will come true! Of course, make all the coins the same so no one knows which one is actually theirs!

Pour the batter into your cake tin. Bake in the oven on 150C for 1 to ½ hours, depending on the size and depth of your cake. You can divide the mixture up if you wish to make smaller cakes, just cook for less time.

Once the cake is cooled in the tin, leave the baking paper on but remove it from the tin and leave to cool completely on the bench. Store in an airtight container for 4-6 weeks. Every week, remove it from the container and baste it with alcohol. Not only does this create a yummy flavour, but it also makes sure no mould grows on the outside. Get the kids to help and their wishes may come true!