Measure out the dried cranberries, mixed peel, sultanas and marzipan. Sprinkle a heaped tablespoon of plain flour in and mix it around to coat the fruit and marzipan. This stops it sinking to the bottom of the muffins while they are baking
Pre-heat your oven to 150C Fan/325F/Gas Mark 3 and line a 12 hole muffin tin with muffin cases
Mix together the baking spread and light brown soft sugar for 2-3 minutes using an electric mixer
Add the eggs, milk, brandy and almond extract, mix in well. Don't worry if it curdles a bit!
Then add the self raising flour, ground almonds, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon, mixed spice and nutmeg, and mix it all together gently
Add the dried fruit and fold it in
Separate the mixture into the paper cases and sprinkle some flaked almonds over each muffin
Bake them for 25-30 minutes. You want them to be golden brown on top and a skewer to come out clean when inserted into the centre
Let them cool fully on a wire rack, then sprinkle with icing sugar before serving if you like
Store in an airtight container in a cool place, eat leftovers within 3 days
Video
Notes
Make sure all your ingredients (particularly the baking spread, milk and eggs) are at room temperature before you start baking.
I used a baking spread for the muffins, but you can also use unsalted butter.
I really recommend using light brown soft sugar if you can for this recipe, but caster sugar will also work.
Mixed spice is a British spice blend containing cinnamon, coriander seed, nutmeg, clove, pimento, and ground ginger. If you can't get hold of it where you're based, you can use a Pumpkin Spice mix instead or add a mix of other spices - I recommend cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.
Although I provide cup measurements, I highly recommend weighing your ingredients out using digital kitchen scales*. It is the most accurate way to measure ingredients and will ensure the best results. Digital scales are very low cost and can be purchased for around £12 ($16.50) .
For teaspoon (tsp) and tablespoon (tbsp) measurements, please use measuring spoons* and not the type of spoons you eat with. Again this will ensure accuracy and provide the best results.