Love It Or Hate It - Dark Christmas Cake - Fruit Cake
This Dark Christmas Fruit Cake is a fruitcake lovers dream! So this stir it up Sunday, this is the Christmas Fruit Cake Recipe you should be making!
Ingredients
| Candied pineapple | 1 1/2 Cup (24 tbs) (375 mL) | |
| Candied cherries | 1 1/2 Cup (24 tbs) (375 mL) | |
| Currants | 2 Cup (32 tbs) (500 mL) | |
| Candied peel | 2 Cup (32 tbs) (500 mL) | |
| Seedless raisins | 1 1/2 Cup (24 tbs) (375 mL) | |
| Brandy/Rum | 1 Cup (16 tbs) (250 mL, or bourbon) | |
| All purpose flour | 2 Cup (32 tbs) (500 mL) | |
| Baking powder | 2 Teaspoon (10 mL) | |
| Baking soda | 1/2 Teaspoon (2 mL) | |
| Salt | 1/2 Teaspoon (2 mL) | |
| Ground allspice | 1/4 Teaspoon (1 mL) | |
| Ground cloves | 1/4 Teaspoon (1 mL) | |
| Ground cinnamon | 1 Teaspoon (5 mL) | |
| Ground nutmeg | 1/2 Teaspoon (2 mL) | |
| Butter | 180 Gram , softened (about 175 mL / ¾ cup) | |
| Packed brown sugar | 170 Gram (175 mL / ¾ cup) | |
| Molasses | 2 Tablespoon (30 mL) | |
| Strawberry jam/Raspberry jam | 1/4 Cup (4 tbs) (about 60 mL) | |
| Eggs | 5 | |
| Chopped walnuts/Chopped pecans | 200 Gram (about 375 mL / 1½ cups) |
Directions
GETTING READY:
1. Chop up the pineapple and cherries.
2. In a large bowl combine; pineapple, cherries, currants, raisins, mixed peel, and brandy; cover and leave on the counter for at least 24 hours, or up to a week; stirring occasionally.
3. Preheat oven to 150ºC (300°F).
4. Line base a 13" x 9" (3.5 L) metal cake pan with parchment paper.
MAKING:
5. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, allspice, cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
6. In a really big bowl; cream together butter and sugar.
7. When butter/sugar is light and fluffy beat in molasses and jam.
8. Then beat in eggs, 1 at a time.
9. Stir in flour mixture just until incorporated.
10. Add fruit mixture and walnuts; stir to combine.
11. Transfer to the prepared pan, smoothing top.
12. Bake cake for 1:45 to 2 hours, until the cake tester inserted in centre, comes out clean but a little sticky.
13. You may need to lay a piece of tinfoil over top during baking if it browns too much.
14. Let cool in pan on rack.
15. Soak a double-thickness of cheesecloth in more brandy; wrap the cake in the cheesecloth and then wrap in plastic wrap.
16. Refrigerate for as long as you can before eating.
17. This will keep in the fridge/freezer almost indefinitely if wrapped carefully.
NOTES:
1. Switch up the dried and candied fruit for anything you're like to have in the cake - there is no 'right or wrong' way.
2. Switch up the alcohol of your choice for any that you prefer - or use apple/grape juice if you wish.
3. Fancy molasses gives a lighter flavour, but sometimes we'll use cooking or blackstrap. Sorghum or honey would also work.
Recipe Summary
