I love the idea of including cocoa in a fruit cake and using fruits that are a little more decadent and different to the usual fruits found in Christmas cake. So for my cake I used dates, cranberries, figs, apricots and sultanas. I also substituted Pedro Ximinez Sherry (which I have cooked with before when I made my poached pear clafoutis) for the coffee liquer that Nigella used.
This fruit cake is fantastic in that it doesn’t need to be made weeks or months in advance, like most fruit cakes, and better still it’s super easy and doesn’t even require a mixer.
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Ingredients
This fruit cake is fantastic in that it doesn’t need to be made weeks or months in advance, like most fruit cakes, and better still it’s super easy and doesn’t even require a mixer.
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Ingredients
- 200 g of dried dates chopped
- 200 g of sultanas
- 200 g of dried cranberries
- 250 g of dried figs chopped
- 100 g of dried Turkish apricots chopped
- 175 g of unsalted butter at room temperature
- 175 g of dark brown sugar
- 175 ml of honey
- 125 ml of Pedro Ximinez sherry
- 2 oranges zested and juiced
- 2 teaspoons of mixed spice
- 2 tablespoons of good quality cocoa
- 3 eggs beaten
- 150 g of plain flour
- 75 g of ground almonds
- 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
Instructions
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- Place the dried fruit, honey, butter, sugar, honey, sherry, cocoa, mixed spice, orange zest and juice in a large saucepan over a medium low heat. Heat until the mixture until it reaches a gentle boil. Stir until the butter melts and reduce heat to simmer for 10 minutes. Set aside for 30 minutes.
- Line a cake tin with baking paper and preheat the oven to 150 degrees celsius.
- Add the beaten eggs, flour, ground almonds, baking soda and baking powder to the fruit mixture and mix until well combined.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared cake tin and bake 1 3/4 hours to 2 hours or until the cake is firm. Remove from the cake tin and set aside on the wire rack to cool.
Courtesy Delicious Everyday
