HELLO everyone. I have to say autumn is my absolute favourite foodie time of year.

All those lovely rich sauces, slow-braised meats, roast root vegetables like pumpkins, squash, salsify and parsnips. Hooray for braised red cabbage, with windfall apples, red wine and cinnamon, almost a dish in itself, but perfect when piled up next to a wedge of steak and kidney pudding and a blob of creamy mash.

Also, and I can hear the moans already, we must have half a mind on the impending Christmas season. Think about ordering that extra-special turkey round about now, especially if it’s a mail-order bird, and, of course, for the intrepid home cook, this is the point at which one should consider knocking up a fruitcake. So let’s do that, shall we?

This particular cake is a terrific recipe, based on Nigel Slater’s near-perfect basic formula, but with a few tweaks and the addition of a few slugs of my favourite beer, Theakston’s Old Peculier. It’s a terrific, dark, malty ale, which cooks well with all the fruit and nuts, although the recipe for the beer has changed over the years, and it’s not half as treacly and strong as it used to be, which is a shame. I suggest you use any dark beer you like, perhaps from a local brewery.

Even Guinness would work well. Also, don’t be afraid of adding and subtracting things you’re not keen on. Just make sure the weights of the various ingredients are the same as the basic recipe before you get cracking…

Stephen Jackson is chef and co-owner of the award-winning Weavers Shed, Golcar.