Cherry & Chocolate Fruit Cake
An Original Recipe by Not Quite Nigella
Preparation time: 1 week
Cooking time: 3 hours
Decorating time: 45 minutes (and drying time, can be done while the fruit soaks)
- 400g/14.13 ozs. glace cherries
- 250g/8.83ozs. dried cherries
- 250g/8.83ozs. golden raisins
- 200g/7ozs. pitted prunes
- Juice of 2 oranges, divided
- 1 cup Scotch whiskey or brandy, divided in two plus 3-4 tablespoons extra
- 300g/10ozs. marzipan, chopped
- 250g/8.83ozs. butter, softened
- 3/4 cup brown sugar (use 1 cup if you like a sweeter fruit cake)
- 5 eggs
- 250g/8.83ozs. pecans
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- 2 heaped tablespoons Woolworths Gold Orange Whiskey Marmalade
- 2 cups self raising gluten free flour (you can use plain self raising flour)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon allspice
- 1 kilo white fondant
- Reindeer cookie cutter
- Paring knife
- Brown, pink, green, purple and black food colouring
- Three pop sticks
- Snowflake sprinkles
- 1/2 cup desiccated coconut
Step 1 - Begin this a week ahead by roughly chopping the prunes, both types of cherries and raisins. Place in a container or bowl and mix with the juice of 1 orange and half a cup of whiskey or brandy. Cover with a lid or cling film and soak for one week in a dark area of the house, ensuring to mix the fruit mixture to coat in the juice once a day. After the first 3 days or so, add the remaining juice of orange and 1/2 cup of whiskey or brandy. During the week that it soaks, you can skip ahead and do steps 5,6 and 7 with the decorations as these will need to set hard and are best if done over a few days.
Step 2 - After a week the fruit is ready. Preheat oven to 160C/320F. Line a square 8x8 inch baking tin with 2 layers of brown paper and 2 layers of baking paper. Beat the marzipan and butter together, then beat in the sugar, then the eggs one at a time. It is ok if it looks curdled. Add the fruit and then add the pecans and chocolate chips, marmalade and the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice in two alternating lots and mix until combined.
Step 3 - Spoon into the prepared tin and bake for 3 hours. Halfway through baking, cover with foil tightly if it is getting a bit too brown. As soon as it comes out of the oven spoon over with the extra whiskey or brandy. Listen to the amazing crackle. Seriously, that should be a ring tone.
Step 4 - Sprinkle a clean surface with cornstarch and roll out the fondant so that it is large enough to fit on top and around the cake. Place the cake on a clean cake board or the serving plate (I made the mistake of having to move it to a plate and so the edges weren't quite as tidy and clean as I wanted when I served it) and gently lift the fondant over the cake. This can be challenging and takes practice. If it breaks, it is best to start all over again before the fondant touches the cake as it will stain with the colours of the cake. If it just barely touches it and you need to start over again, pick out and discard the coloured bits.
Step 5 - Smooth the fondant with a little plastic overhead square. Allow to set while you get on with the figurines. You can make these in the week while the fruit is marinating as it is best if the fondant is totally set. Cut out a reindeer using a cutter and you can use a paring knife to cut out a tree and a gingerbread house. You can make a couple of trees too or bushes.
Step 6 - Take a #8 paintbrush - the key to painting is to layer colours from the lightest to the darkest. I made a video tutorial on how to do this if you want to take a peek. I was most worried about the reindeer as they have white patches but that turned out fine. The tree is very easy and you can go a bit wild with the gingerbread house or make it a regular looking hut. Allow to dry completely and become firm.
Step 7 - Make sure that the pop sticks are the correct length - mine were a bit too long so I trimmed them down. Take a bit more fondant (you should have lots left over), dab a bit of water on the back of the set and affix the pop stick. Allow to dry face down. Then stick them into the top of the cake. I put the tree at the back, the house in the centre and the reindeer at the front. Sprinkle with coconut and you can also affix the snowflakes on the front with a little water or royal icing.