Chocolate Christmas Cake

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For a delicious alternative to a traditional cake for all those chocoholics, try this mouth-watering chocolate Christmas cake!

Ingredients

  • 250g butter
  • 170ml water
  • 150g fair trade unrefined muscovado sugar
  • A good glug of brandy (use extra water or orange juice if preferred)
  • 1kg fair trade mixed dried fruit
  • 40g glace ginger, finely minced
  • 65g fair trade cocoa powder
  • 1/2tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 1tbsp treacle
  • 5 free range eggs, lightly beaten
  • 200g plain flour
  • 1tsp baking powder
  • 100g chopped fair trade walnuts and / or brazil nuts
  • 200g chopped fair trade dark chocolate
  • When chopping the fruit, nuts and chocolate, aim to get everything the size of a large sultana

Pre-heat your oven to 150C/300F/GM3. Grease and line a 20cm (8″) round or square cake tin with non-stick baking paper. Make a lining paper sit up 2.5cm (1″) higher than the top of the tin. Because the baking time is 2 hours, wrap the outside of the cake tin with foil or a double layer of brown paper to help deflect some of the heat.

Put the butter, water, brown sugar and brandy into a large saucepan, and bring slowly to a simmer until the butter has melted. Add the fruits, ginger and cocoa powder. Stir through. Cover with a lid and bring back to a simmer for 10 minutes. Stir occasionally to ensure the ingredients aren’t sticking to the pan. Then remove from the heat, stir through the bi-carb soda, cover and leave to cool.

Once the fruit mixture has cooled to room temperature, stir through the treacle and beaten eggs. Then, stir through the flour, baking powder, nuts and chocolate until completely combined. Spread the cake batter into the prepared cake tin. Tap the tin on the bench several times to settle the mix.

Place on a baking tray and bake 2 hours. The cake may take a little longer to cook, but at two hours test the middle of the cake with a skewer to see if it is cooked through. Remove from the oven and cover the top of the cake tin with foil to trap the moisture in. Leave the chocolate Christmas cake to cool completely before removing from the tin.

If you make this chocolate Christmas cake a few weeks in advance, give it a ‘drink’ once a week with an egg cup-full of brandy dribbled over the top of the cake for an extra indulgent touch!

To decorate, cover with marzipan and fondant or royal icing and then let you imagination run wild!

 

This is a Traidcraft recipe which is no longer available from their website.