| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 3 hr 30 min |
| Prep: | 30 min |
| Inactive: | 1 hr |
| Cook: | 2 hr |
| Yield: | 1 (8 by 3 1/2-inch) cake |
Ingredients
- 12 1/4 ounces (350 grams) dried soft prunes, chopped
- 8 3/4 ounces (250 grams) raisins
- 4 1/2 ounces(125 grams) currants
- 6 1/4 ounces (175 grams) unsalted butter, softened
- 6 1/4 (175 grams) dark muscovado sugar
- 6 1/4 fluid ounces (175 ml) honey
- 4 1/2 fluid ounces (125 ml) coffee liqueur
- 2 oranges, zested and juiced
- 1 teaspoon mixed spice
- 2 tablespoons good quality cocoa
- 3 free-range eggs, beaten
- 5 1/4 ounces (150 grams) plain flour
- 2 1/2 ounces (75 grams) ground almonds
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1-ounce (25 grams) dark chocolate-covered coffee beans
- Edible glitter
- Gold mini balls
- About 10 edible gold stars
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
- Line the sides and bottom of an 8 by 3 1/2-inch deep, round loose-bottomed cake tin with a layer of reusable silicon baking parchment. When lining the tin with the parchment, cut the material into strips that are twice as high as the tin itself (it is easier to use two shorter strips of parchment, than one long strip); the height of the strips protects the cake from catching on the outside of the cake tin.
- Place the fruit, butter, sugar, honey, coffee liqueur, orange zest and juice, mixed spice and cocoa into a large wide saucepan. Heat the mixture until it reaches a gentle boil, stirring the mixture as the butter melts. Let the mixture simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat and leave to stand for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, the mixture will have cooled a little. Add the eggs, flour, ground almonds, baking powder and baking soda, and mix well with a wooden spoon or spatula until the ingredients have combined.
- Carefully pour the fruitcake mixture into the lined cake tin. Transfer the cake tin to the oven and bake for 1 3/4 to 2 hours, or until the top of the cake is firm but will has a shiny and sticky look. At this point, if you insert a sharp knife into the middle of the cake, the cake should still be a little uncooked in the middle.
- Place the cake on a cooling rack. Once the cake has cooled, remove it from the tin.
- To decorate, place the chocolate-covered coffee beans in the centre of the cake and arrange the gold stars around the perimeter of the top of the cake. Then sprinkle some gold mini-balls over the whole cake and sprinkle the top with edible glitter.
Reviews
This has become a favourite for my family and friends every Christmas. I have to bake several each year for my friends who’s always looking forward for this cake. This is a great recipe, always a hit.
Wonderfull
Gorgeous cake and made the house smell of Christmas. Where I changed the recipe was not in the cake, but the decoration of it. I did something of a white chocolate ganache, not much cream, but with ground almonds and icing sugar. I decorated it in red and green.
This is a gorgeously delicious and slightly ‘different’ fruit cake I will definitely be making again. It’s dense, rich and moist. I don’t understand the comments about it’s cost- it’s so easy to switch out various ingredients. Leave out the liqueur – use espresso powder, stick with the orange juice or use another well flavoured juice. Use your preferred combination of dried fruits if you don’t like prunes. I used less prunes and made up the difference with dried cherries and raisins. Add nuts…or not! I didn’t use muscavdo sugar-i used coconut sugar and less honey than the recipe calls for. Added some plum jam-that’s the beauty of this recipe. It’s pretty adaptable! It uses less eggs than the average Christmas cake and cooks quicker. Line the tin with plain ol’ baking paper or just grease. And enjoy!
What is “mixed spice”? Why on earth would anyone risk the expense of this extravagant cake without knowing what all of the ingredients are?
Made this, shared this, and now, ‘this’ ceases to exist after being greedily devoured by the entire family. Great, really moist cake that is definitely chocolaty, but the chocolate is not overpowering at all. I upped the baking powder to 1tsp, and went much heavier on the mixed spice too, which I think gave it a really great flavour, and meant that my cake didn’t sink which was something I was worried about. Recommended!
Very very disappointing. Followed recipe exactly, used premium ingredients, middle never got down while outside became crispy and the entire thing was inedible. At 35 minutes a knife stuck in the middle was still liquid. Had to throw entire thing in the bin. Do not try this recipe.
Very disappointed. Couldn’t taste the chocolate, fruit flavors totally overpowered by the orange zest. I took a tip here and switched some figs for the massive amount of prunes spec’d- and the figs took over. With all the different fruit in this, proportion is really critical, or else they’ll get drowned out. When you add up the ingredients, this is an expensive cake. It’s really a shame, as I was looking forward to developing a closer cooking relationship with Nigella.
My husband said it is the best Christmas cake he has ever had….
Thanks for the amazing recipe! Tried it, it was a big hit :