Christmas Cake
This cake can be made closer to Christmas without soaking the fruit. It makes enough for 2 cakes. The addition of the chocolate gives it a rich flavour. Add some molasses and use the dark beer and everyone will be asking you for the recipe.
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Ingredients
Method
- 200g Pams Prunes
- 330ml beer, stout or cold tea
- 150g Pams Mixed Peel
- 400g Cinderella Sultanas
- 400g Pams Currants
- 250g Pams Butter
- 250g Chelsea Brown Sugar
- 2tsps Hansells Vanilla Essence
- 6 eggs
- 300g plain flour
- 3 tsps mixed spice
- 70g chopped walnuts
- 100g dark chocolate bits
- 1 pomegranate
- ALSO NEED: baking paper
- Heat oven to 160◦C (not fan bake).
- Blitz or chop the prunes and mix with the cold tea or beer.
- Put into a large bowl with the dried fruit. Leave to soak.
- Double-line 2 cake tins – 23cm round or 20cm square - with enough baking paper to come a couple of cm’s above the top of the tin. Lightly oil the tins first so the paper sticks closely to the sides.
- Beat the butter, sugar and vanilla until creamy and then add in the eggs one by one.
- Mix in the flour, mixed spice, nuts, chocolate, soaked fruit and liquid from the bowl pour into the cake tins.
- Bake for 2-3 hours. You will need to check the cakes after 1½ - 2 hours and cover the top if needed to prevent it getting too brown.
- Cook the cake until a skewer comes out clean.
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When cool you can decorate the cakes with prunes, walnuts and pomegranate seeds or your favourite Christmas icing.
AND MORE
- Add 2 tbs of molasses for a richer flavour.
- Cut the pomegranate in half and knock all the seeds out.
- If you aren’t going to decorate the cake straight away freeze the seeds mixed with a little syrup or apricot jam; in a clip lock bag until you are ready to use.
- Pomegranate seeds work well in salads and sprinkled over pulled roast lamb.