If you want to feast your family with a great Christmas dish but you are not quite a cook; this recipe could be exactly what you have been looking for. Here we will explain how to cook an incredibly tasty Christmas dessert that is extremely easy to make, so you don’t have to be afraid you won’t be up to the task. You can trust us; there is no way you can go wrong with this easy recipe. Be confident! Stop wasting time looking for shapermint christmas clearance sale on the internet and go get your apron to get started with this marvelous dish. You won’t regret it.
1 – Christmas fruit and nut cake
You are going to love this cake! It is really easy to make and truly delicious. In no time you will have an amazing dessert for your Christmas dinner. Let’s get to the recipe.
Ingredients:
– 250 g. butter (at room temperature)
– 140 g. light muscovado sugar
– 280 g. plain flour
– 85 g. ground almond
– 2 tsp. ground ginger
– 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
– 700 g. luxury mixed fruit (raisins, sultanas, currants, glace cherries and mixed peel)
– 3 tbsp. dark rum
– 140 g. white marzipan, diced
For the Florentine topping
– 50 g. each whole skinned hazelnut and blanched almonds
– 85 g. each Brazil nuts and flaked almonds
– 140 g. whole glace cherries
– 100 g. golden syrup
Getting it done! Step by step
First of all you need to preheat the oven to 160 Cº. You will need a 22 or 23 cm round loose-based cake tin base, and lightly grease and line the base and sides. Then beat the butter, sugar, eggs, flour, ground almonds and spices until it is mixed and creamy. It is preferable to use an electric beater or a food mixer.
Separate 100 g. of the cake mixture, put it in a bowl and set it aside. Then mix the fruit and rum with the remaining mixture, then gently stir in the marzipan. Dump this mixture into the prepared cake tin and make the surface smooth and even with a spoon or a spatula. Then make a slight slump in the center, this last trick is to avoid the cake from having a mountain-shape appearance. Now it is ready to take it to the oven; bake it for 75 minutes
Fruit and nut topping
While the cake cooks, you can start preparing the fruit and nut topping. First you need to mix the nuts, cherries and syrup into the remaining cake mixture (the one you set aside). Spoon the mixture on top of the part-cooked cake (after it was an hour and 15 minutes in the oven), distribute the mixture evenly across the surface of the cake. Then loosely cover the top of the tin with foil.
Return to the oven for another 40 minutes, then take off the foil and bake for another 10-15 minutes till the nuts turn golden. Stay alert and vigilant, so they don’t get too dark. To make sure the cake mixture is cooked you have to insert a fine skewer into the cake; if it comes out clean it means it is ready. Before unmolding the cake, you need to let it cool, keeping the lining on.
Now, the presentation
To serve, first you need to remove the cake from the foil and the lining and unmold it. You can present it on a serving plate and decorate with some fruits and mistletoe on the sides.
Of course, you can let your imagination flow when it comes to the decoration; there are tons of things you can incorporate to finish your dish. You can add a golden ribbon, or sprinkle it with powdered sugar to make it look snowy. Be creative and have fun while doing it!
Conservation
You can keep this cake for up to 2 weeks, and it can be frozen for up to 2 months.
Extra tip
If you would like to add icing to this recipe, try this.
Sift 140 g of icing sugar into a bowl, then stir in cold water or egg white, a little at a time, until the mix is even and smooth. The icing should easily drizzle from the tip of the spoon. After placing the cake on a plate or a cake stand, pour the icing over the top of the cake and leave it to set for an hour.
Hope you dare to do this delicious dessert!
