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Cranberry Christmas Cake

Christmas is nearly here and its a great time to get the kids into the kitchen to help out with all your Christmas Baking.  This recipe really reminds us of Christmas – lots of dried fruits, nuts, luscious masala and, of course, cherries.

You can make this well in advance of Christmas, it will keep well in an airtight container.

So what are you waiting for?  Grab the kids and start cooking!

Cranberry Christmas Cake
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Ingredients

  • 500g Stirling Foods Cranberry Nibble Mix*
  • 125g butter
  • 3⁄4 cup strong black coffee
  • 3⁄4 cup marsala
  • 1 cup of sugar
  • 1⁄2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp mixed spice
  • 1 tsp bicarb soda
  • 3 eggs
  • 
2 1⁄2 cups plain flour
  • 1 lge tsp baking powder
  • 1⁄2 tsp salt

FOR THE TOPPING:

  • 50g golden syrup
  • 50g butter
  • 1 tbsp Olympic Fine Foods blanched almonds
  • 1 tbsp Olympic Fine Foods cashew nuts
  • 5 tbsp pistachio kernels
  • 50g dried cranberries
  • 1 tbsp Olympic Fine Foods pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
  • 100g of red glace cherries

*Stirling Foods Cranberry Nibble Mix can be found in all good independent retailers in WA.

Method

  1. Place the cranberry nibble mix into a bowl with the coffee, butter, bicarb soda, sugar
 and marsala and mix well. Gently bring to 
the boil.
  2. Turn the heat down and simmer for about ten minutes, stirring frequently.
  3. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool to room temperature.
  4. Pre-heat the oven to 160 – 180C.
  5. Beat the eggs and set aside.
  6. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt (twice).
  7. When the fruit mixture is cool – mix in the eggs, then the sifted dry ingredients.
  8. Line the bottom and sides of a 20cm cake tin with baking paper. Fill with mix, leaving about 200g of the cake mix to one side.
  9. Put a piece of baking paper on the top and place in the oven for 60 minutes.
  10. Remove the cake (it will be soft) and evenly spread the reserved 200g of uncooked mix over the cake, followed by the fruit and nut topping
.  Then cover loosely with a piece of foil. Return to the oven for another half hour. Remove and cool.

FOR THE TOPPING:

  1. Melt the butter and golden syrup and mix the fruit and nut mix through.  When the cake is cooled and on a rack, pile on top.
  2. For an extra touch we drizzled white chocolate over the fruit topping.

TO SERVE:

  1. Serve with a good dollop of double cream to cut through the sweetness.

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