Chocolate Fruit Cake

Recipes from Feast by Nigella Lawson, published by Chatto and Windus

Show: Food Network SpecialsEpisode: Nigella's Christmas Kitchen: Ginger and Spices

Rated: 5 stars out of 5Rate itRead users' reviews (13)

RECIPE
COMMENTS & REVIEWS(13)

Photo: Chocolate Fruit Cake

Cook Time:
2 hr 0 min
Level:
Intermediate
Yield:
1 (8 by 3 1/2-inch) cake

Times:

Prep: 30 min
Inactive Prep: 1 hr 0 min
Cook: 2 hr 0 min
Total:: 3 hr 30 min

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Ingredients

12 1/4 ounces (350 grams) dried soft prunes, chopped
8 3/4 ounces (250 grams) raisins
4 1/2 ounces(125 grams) currants
6 1/4 ounces (175 grams) unsalted butter, softened
6 1/4 (175 grams) dark muscovado sugar
6 1/4 fluid ounces (175 ml) honey
4 1/2 fluid ounces (125 ml) coffee liqueur
2 oranges, zested and juiced
1 teaspoon mixed spice
2 tablespoons good quality cocoa
3 free-range eggs, beaten
5 1/4 ounces (150 grams) plain flour
2 1/2 ounces (75 grams) ground almonds
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

For decoration:

1-ounce (25 grams) dark chocolate-covered coffee beans
Edible glitter
Gold mini balls
About 10 edible gold stars

Directions

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).

Line the sides and bottom of an 8 by 3 1/2-inch deep, round loose-bottomed cake tin with a layer of reusable silicon baking parchment. When lining the tin with the parchment, cut the material into strips that are twice as high as the tin itself (it is easier to use two shorter strips of parchment, than one long strip); the height of the strips protects the cake from catching on the outside of the cake tin.

Place the fruit, butter, sugar, honey, coffee liqueur, orange zest and juice, mixed spice and cocoa into a large wide saucepan. Heat the mixture until it reaches a gentle boil, stirring the mixture as the butter melts. Let the mixture simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat and leave to stand for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, the mixture will have cooled a little. Add the eggs, flour, ground almonds, baking powder and baking soda, and mix well with a wooden spoon or spatula until the ingredients have combined.

Carefully pour the fruitcake mixture into the lined cake tin. Transfer the cake tin to the oven and bake for 1 3/4 to 2 hours, or until the top of the cake is firm but will has a shiny and sticky look. At this point, if you insert a sharp knife into the middle of the cake, the cake should still be a little uncooked in the middle.

Place the cake on a cooling rack. Once the cake has cooled, remove it from the tin.

To decorate, place the chocolate-covered coffee beans in the centre of the cake and arrange the gold stars around the perimeter of the top of the cake. Then sprinkle some gold mini-balls over the whole cake and sprinkle the top with edible glitter.

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Comments & Reviews

recipe Chocolate Fruit Cake
Patricia Flowery Branch, GA 03-01-2009
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Not Your Ordinary Fruit Cake
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I finally tried this recipe after saving it during the holidays. it is truly the most unusual fruit cake I have ever tried. ... People who warned me that they didn't care for fruit cake ate this and couldn't wait to have more. The levels of flavor were wonderful. It will be the only fruit cake I ever make!Read more
recipe Chocolate Fruit Cake
Sally Palo Alto, CA 12-29-2008
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An Amazing Recipe
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

This is one of the best Christmas Cake recipes I've ever tasted - rich and moist with just enough unexpected ingredients like... coffee liquer and coca powder. My friends and relatives loved it. However, I found the 8" spring form pan did not hold all the batter, so I switched to a 9' pan lined with Reynolds Release - a fairly new product which is aluminum foil coated with silicone and it worked perfectly. I don't have a kichen scale, so I used my old postal scale. Five stars Nigella! Sally Palo Alto CallforniaRead more
recipe Chocolate Fruit Cake
Ramona Phoenix, AZ 12-29-2008
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Very Moist and Flavorful!
Rated: 4 stars out of 5

I made this yesterday and tasted it this morning -- the texture and moistness was wonderful! If I had it to do again, I... would cut down on the amount of orange zest and juice (a little too "orange-y" for my taste), but everything else was great. I used coffee instead of coffee liqueur, used less prunes (8 oz), added cranberries, dates and slivered almonds since I love nuts. I couldn't find currants in the store I went to so I left them out, and used raw sugar instead of the other specialty sugar (couldn't find that either). I also baked it in a Bundt pan at 300 degrees for 1 1/2 hours and that was just the right amount of time to bake through but not dry it out. Finally, I topped it with confectioner's sugar and plated it on a festive Christmas platter.Read more
recipe Chocolate Fruit Cake
Cheryl Los Angeles, CA 12-26-2008
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Love this! (and I hate fruitcake)
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

Couldn't wait to try this even though I hate fruitcake because it looked so good. This cake was a breeze to prepare. It... turned out moist and rich. The orange, chocolate, coffee liquer and spices combine to give it complexity with no one flavor predominating. The smell is to die for and it makes a very elegant presentation. Everyone who has tasted it has said the same thing - they hate fruit cake, but love this. Nigella hit it out of the park with this one!Read more
recipe Chocolate Fruit Cake
Tanja Farmville, VA 12-23-2008
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Gooey, sweet and delicious
Rated: 4 stars out of 5

This is a very easy recipe and it's a lovely moist cake. It's important to note though, that there are a LOT of prunes in... this cake and usually people eat prunes and drink prune juice for constipation... enough said. Apart from that, it's yummy!Read more
recipe Chocolate Fruit Cake
Margaret Huntsville, AL 12-10-2008
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WOW What a Fruit Cake!
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I have never even found a fruit cake that I was willing to make. I tried this one and it is absolutely outstanding! Have... decided to call it a Holiday Cake though. Fruit Cake just has such a bad rap.Read more