Easy Christmas Fruit Cake

PREP TIME 20

COOK TIME 40

TOTAL TIME 1

10 -12 slices

This Easy Christmas Fruit Cake is filled with the warmest spices and flavor, rich and absolutely delicious.

Ingredients

US Customary - Metric

For the Soaked fruit (See note 1)

⅔ cup freshly squeezed orange juice (note 2)
⅓ cup water
2 cups mixed dried mixed fruit (note 3)

For the cake

1 ½ cups all purpose or cake flour
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon powder
1 teaspoon all spice (mixed spice)
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg (optional)
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup oil (see note 4)
¾ cup brown sugar
1 cup buttermilk or plain unflavoured yogurt (see note 5)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup chopped pecan and cashew nuts (optional, see note 6)

Glace icing (optional)

2 ½ cups powdered sugar (icing sugar)
4 Tablespoons hot water

Instructions

Soak the fruit

Add mixed dried fruit to the juice mix and simmer on medium low heat for about 5 minutes until the mixture thickens and the dry fruits absorb all the juices. Set aside for about 10 to 15 minutes. The fruit will absorb most of the liquid as it stands.

Preheat the oven and prepare the baking pan

Pre-heat the oven to 160°C / 320°F (140°C fan). Grease and line an 8 x3 inch / 20cm x 6cm round cake pan with baking paper (parchment paper). Place a strip around the sides as well (especially if you don’t have a good non stick baking pan) Or spray around the inside well with non stick baking/ cooking spray.

Make the cake batter

In a bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, all spice cinnamon and salt, and set aside.
In a separate medium sized bowl, whisk together the brown sugar and oil until well combined. (Whisk by hand for about 2 minutes)
Add the vanilla extract and buttermilk to the oil and sugar mixture and mix well or until the sugar is dissolved (about 2 minutes)
Gently fold in the dry ingredients and mix until everything is well combined and there are no large flour pockets in the batter. Do not over mix at this stage.
Fold in the soaked fruit (include any liquid left in the pot) into the batter (see note 7)
If using any peanuts, almonds or cashew nuts, you can mix it into the batter now.
Transfer the batter to the prepared cake pan.

Bake

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or only until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
Remove from the oven and leave in the pan for 5 minutes before placing on a cooling rack. If frosting, allow the cake to cool completely (See note 8)
Decorate as you prefer (see note 9)

Make the frosting (glacé icing) (optional)

Add powdered sugar and boiling water in a medium bowl and mix to combine.
If you feel that the icing is too thick, add a tablespoon of boiling water at a time to get it to the desired consistency.
If too thin, add a Tablespoon of powdered sugar at a time to get it to the desired consistency.
Spread the icing over the cooled cake, gently pushing it along the edges for a drip effect.
Ensure that you use the icing immediately after mixing. As it cools, the icing dries and thickens making it difficult to spread and get a smooth finish. An offset spatula dipped in a glass of hot water and dried helps work the icing around the cake easier
Leave the icing to dry on the cake for about 40 minutes to an hour, before topping with decorations.

Video

Recipe Notes

1.Soaking the fruit can also be done up to an hour in advance (before you start mixing the batter) if you prefer.

2. If you not too keen on citrus flavours, then use 1 cup (240ml ) of just water or apple juice (or a combination of both) to soak the fruit.

3.Soaked fruit: The beauty of this cake is that you can use whatever dried fruit you have or like. The only thing you have to remember is to keep the total weight to 2 cups (300g). I mixed in a combination of dried cranberries, currants, raisins, dried apricots and candied cherries. The total weight of all the fruit added was 2 cups (300g)

4. Oil: A neutral unflavoured oil like canola, sunflower is best to use.

5. Buttermilk or yogurt: Keeps the cake soft tender and light.

6. Nuts and peanuts: If using any type of peanuts, almonds cashew or pecans, ensure that it is the unsalted variety. Salted peanuts will throw off the salt balance producing a very salty fruit cake.

7. Reserve about 2 to 4 Tablespoons of the soaked fruit to spread over the batter before baking. This gives the cake a beautiful appearance especially if served without the frosting. If you are frosting the cake then reserving fruit to top on the batter is not necessary. Simply mix it all into the cake.

8. If you are frosting the cake, I suggest you turn it out upside down onto a cooking rack, so that the bottom of the cake is now the top. This part of the cake has a much flatter surface and makes for a flawless, smoother spread glacé icing

9. Decorating and serving tips:

Without frosting: Without frosting it makes a great any time, any day dessert or treat. Dust with powdered sugar and top with fresh fruit like cherries, berries or nuts For a little decadence, serve with my easy 3 ingredient homemade custard (also egg free). Or enjoy served with whipped cream.
With Frosting: I used a simple glacé icing for this cake. It dries to a smooth finish and is the perfect canvas for beautiful decorations.

Nutrition

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