Chocolate & Cherry Christmas Cake

So I kind of missed Stir It Up Sunday this year. I really do not know where the weeks have gone to be honest. The weekend that this date took place, I was still recovering from all the preparation I did for the school Christmas fayre, and on the Sunday itself I had family down for a meal and I just ran out of time!

Anyway, not one to worry too much about days with fancy names I had my own Stir It Up Monday earlier this week after school instead. The boys could not wait to help me and each had a stir and made a wish.

I decided to make a Christmas cake instead of a pudding for a change, and knowing that sometimes Christmas Cake made in a traditional way is not always a winner for some people. I thought I would make a chocolate version. My recipe is inspired by one that Nigella created, but I changed some of the ingredients, added some morello cherries, Baileys instead of Tia Maria and covered mine in chocolate icing, whereas she leaves her un-iced. I also added some Thorntons dark chocolate covered cherry truffles to finish it off.

Here is my Chocolate & Cherry Christmas Cake

Chocolate Christmas cake

 

Print

Cook time

120 mins

Total time

2 hours

 

Author: Jenny Paulin

Serves: 16

Ingredients

• 400g glace morello cherries
• 150g raisins
• 150g currants
• 75g dried apricots, cut into 4 pieces
• 100g chocolate drops
• 175 g soft unsalted butter
• 175 g dark muscovado sugar
• 175 ml runny honey
• 125 ml Baileys Irish Cream
• Juice and zest of 2 oranges
• 1 teaspoon mixed spice
• 4 tbsp cocoa powder
• 3 large eggs beaten
• 150g self raising flour
• 75g flaked almonds
• 50g ground hazelnuts
• **ICING**
• Black cherry jam - 1 tbsp approx
• 500g Renshaws chocolate flavoured icing
• 1 packet of Thorntons dark chocolate covered cherry truffles.

Instructions

1. Pre heat the oven to 150C / 130oC (fan)
2. Grease and line an 8 inch loose bottomed cake tin - ensure that the grease proof paper comes up the sides of the tin
3. Put the fruit, butter, sugar, Baileys, runny honey, orange Zest and juice, mixed spice and cocoa powder into a large saucepan.
4. Bring to the boil gently, stirring all the time and then allow to simmer for 15 minutes.
5. Remove from the heat and leave to cool for 30 minutes.
6. After at least 30 minutes, add all of the remaining ingredients, and stir to combine.
7. Pour the fruit cake mixture into the prepared cake tin.
8. Place in the oven and bake for 100-120 minutes, until the cake is cooked all the way through, but you still want it to be a little gooey in the middle.
9. Leave to cool and then carefully remove from the tin.
10. Once cooled you can ice your cake
11. **ICING**
12. Roll out the icing large enough to cover the entire cake
13. Cover the cake in the cherry jam (I melted my jam to make a sauce)
14. Place the icing over the cake and smooth over,
15. trim off any excess of the icing
16. Top with the truffles
17. I also added some festive ribbon to cover up the blemishes!
18. Keep in a airtight tin and it should keep as a normal Christmas cake does *fingers crossed*

3.2.2885

I have no idea how this cake tastes as yet because it has not been cut into! I am actually thinking of giving it away to Jenson’s pre school for their Christmas coffee morning the week after next, so fingers crossed it will taste nice!!!

I was sent a selection of ingredients from Aldi with which to make a Christmas pudding or cake with as part of the Stir It Up Sunday tradition. Thank you Aldi for helping me to make such a great cake for Christmas!

Like this? Share it...

Twitter

Facebook

Pinterest

Linkedin

StumbleUpon

Digg

email