CITRUS, GRAPPA AND VANILLA CHRISTMAS BUNDT CAKE

INGREDIENTS 100g dried sour cherries 175g sultanas 150g currants 150g candied citrus peel 150ml grappa 250g caster sugar 150g unsalted butter, softened 4 eggs 1 vanilla pod, scraped 2 tsp vanilla extract 140g soured cream Finely grated zest of one lemon and one lime 240g plain flour 1 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp fine sea salt 200g icing sugar 2 tbsp lime juice Candied peel and freeze-dried or glacé cherries, to decorate

METHOD

The day before you bake the cake, put the sour cherries, sultanas, currants, candied citrus peel and grappa into a bowl, cover and leave overnight. Toss the fruit in the grappa a few times over the course of the soaking so that it absorbs the alcohol evenly. Grease a large Bundt pan and preheat the oven to 150°C. Beat the caster sugar and butter until very light, fluffy and almost doubled in volume. Add the eggs one by one, mixing well after each addition. Add the scraped vanilla seeds from the pod, the vanilla extract, soured cream, lemon and lime zest and mix well. Stir in the soaked fruit. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Combine this with the fruit mixture, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a spatula. Pour into the tin and bake for an hour and 15 minutes. Cool in the tin, then invert onto a serving plate. Whisk the icing sugar and lime juice together and drizzle over the cake. Decorate with the peel and cherries.