CHRISTMAS BAKES
This year’s cake and pud
Tropical Christmas Cake
Traditional dried fruits have been given a Caribbean lift with juicy mango, warming rum and spicy ginger for a lighter bake. You’ll need to soak the fruit at least a day before baking the cake, so remember to shop for your ingredients in advance. Don’t miss our step-by-step decoration guide in the December issue.
Hands-on time 15min, plus at least 24 hours soaking. Cooking time about 1hr 45min. Serves 20
400g (14oz) sweet and tangy dried fruit mix – we used Waitrose 100g (3½oz) pitted dates, finely chopped 100g (3½oz) dried mango, finely chopped Zest and juice of 1 orange 100ml (3½fl oz) spiced rum 1tbsp vanilla bean paste 175g (6oz) unsalted butter, softened, plus extra, to grease 175g (6oz) dark brown muscovado sugar 3 medium eggs, beaten 175g (6oz) plain flour 2tbsp desiccated coconut 1tsp ground ginger 1tsp ground cinnamon ½tsp ground cloves 2tsp mixed spice ½tsp ground nutmeg 50g (2oz) stem ginger in syrup, chopped (reserve the syrup to use in desserts)
1 Put the dried fruit, dates, mango, orange zest and juice, rum and vanilla into a large non-metallic bowl or a food bag. Mix, then cover with clingfilm and leave to soak for at least 24hr, or for up to 2 days. 2 When ready to bake the cake, heat the oven to 150°C (130°C fan) mark 2. Grease and line a 20.5cm (8in) deep round cake tin with baking parchment. 3 Put butter and sugar into a large mixing bowl, and beat with a handheld electric whisk until light and creamy. Gradually whisk in eggs, adding a little flour if the mix begins to split. Fold in the remaining flour, coconut and spices, followed by the stem ginger. 4 Tip in the soaked fruit, stir well, spoon mixture into the tin and level the surface. Bake for 1hr 45min, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool completely in the tin, then remove (keeping it in its parchment paper) and wrap in a double thickness of foil. Store in a cool, dark place to mature for up to 3 months. 5 Feed the cake every 3-4 weeks with 2tbsp spiced rum – to do this, use a skewer to make small holes in the top and bottom of the cake, using 1tbsp for each side. Re-wrap carefully after each addition. Do this up until 1 week before decorating your cake to ensure it has sufficient time to dry out.