15 December, 2019
Quick Christmas Cake Like No Other
If you delayed making Christmas cake to the last minute, not only because it’s so time consuming in maturing it and feeding it… or most probably even because you don’t like the heavy consistency stodgy cake clustered with tasteless hard bits of dried fruit…?
Here’s the solution- quick and easy made Christmas cake- but slightly differently. Fruits and spices has been softened and infused together by simmering gently in the pan. Added dark chocolate and molasses gives beautiful rich unique flavor to the cake, enhanced with hint of espresso. Perfection 🙂
Not as heavy heavy, light yet bursting with seasonal spices.
Dry ingredients
200g sultanas
100g raisins
80g dried chopped apricots
200g dates
Zest and juice of 1 large orange
80ml good quality brandy
1tbsp instant espresso powder
110g unsalted butter
1tsp mixed spice
0.5tsp ground cloves
1tsp cinnamon
150g light muscovado sugar
80g organic liquid molasses from Meridian Foos
50g 100% cocoa solids chocolate or Foodthoughts 100% cacao melts
1tsp vanilla extract
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
Dry ingredients
200g plain flour
100g ground almonds
1 heaped tsp baking powder
0.5tsp baking soda
Preheat the oven to 170’C or 150’C Fan.
Now, weigh all ingredients from the dry ingredients list (expect eggs) in to the large pot.
Place on the medium heat and gently heat all until butter melted, then lower the heat and simmer gently stirring occasionally.
In the mean time, prepare 22cm/ 9inch cake tin by greasing and lining it with parchment paper. Leave the paper higher on the edges than the tin, it will prevent cake of browning too much.
Now, switch off the heat of the fruit, pour your beaten eggs and mix in to the hot mix using hand whisk.
In the separate bowl mix all dry ingredients and pour in the pot with hot fruit. Using spatula mix everything very well and bake In preheated oven for around 1hr or until skewer comes clean. You might need to cover the cake with foil last 15-20 min to prevent it from browning it too much.
Take out the oven. Cool completely in the tin. Remove on to serving plate and decorate as your heart desires.
I used 100% Foodthoughts cocoa and pondered sugar mix to sift on top and some Christmas sprinkles
