Ok you were a little tired on stir it Sunday and didn't make a Christmas cake. No problem there is still plenty of time. This recipe by Dan Lepard creates a lovely Christmas cake with a rich caramel flavour and plenty of fruit. It's easy to make and perfect for decorating for Christmas Day.
[mpprecipe-recipe:111]
Ingredients- 200g caster sugar
- 150ml double cream
- 50g honey
- 50g black treacle or molasses
- Finely grated zest of 1 orange and 1 lemon
- 4 tsp mixed spice
- 100g unsalted butter
- 3 medium eggs
- 250g strong white flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 250g each currants, raisins and chopped prunes or figs. (this is a great time to use some boozy fruit)
- 400g natural glacé cherries (if you don't like grace cherries, skip them or use 4oog of other dried fruit).
- 200g shelled, halved walnuts
- Line the base and sides of a round 18cm diameter cake tin with two or three layers of nonstick baking parchment.
- Start pre-heating the oven to 170C (150C fan-assisted)/335F/gas mark 3.
- Measure out the ingredients and have them ready in bowls.
- Put the sugar and 50ml water in a saucepan and for five to six minutes until it turns a dark reddish colour.
- As soon as the colour changes, add the cream and stir - beware the mixture may splutter, so stand well back!
- Remove the caramel mixture from the heat.
- Add the honey, treacle, zest and mixed spice to the caramel mixture.
- Add the butter mixing it in as it melts.
- Pour the caramel mixture into a large mixing bowl and beat in the eggs one at a time.
- Beat in the flour and baking powder until smooth.
- Fold in the fruit and nuts.
- Spoon in the mixture into your prepared baking tin.
- Bake for two hours, or until a skewer comes out clean.
- Allow it to cool in the tin while you search for wee Santa's, reindeers and other silly but fun decorations.