Christmas Chocolate and Orange Fruitcake
Not a fan of classic Christmas cake? Give it a modern makeover with chocolate and orange. This is one fruitcake all of the family will love!
Prep Time30 minutes mins
Cook Time1 hour hr 30 minutes mins
Soaking time30 minutes mins
Total Time2 hours hrs
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: British
Keyword: almonds, butter, caster sugar, cherries, chocolate, cranberries, currants, eggs, orange, raisins
Servings: 12 people
Calories: 541.69kcal
Author: Emma
- 250 grams raisins
- 250 grams currants
- 100 grams dried cranberries
- 100 grams glace cherries
- 75 ml orange juice
- 200 grams butter
- 200 grams dark brown sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 100 grams dark chocolate
- 1 vanilla pod seeds only
- 200 grams self raising flour
- 3 tbsp cocoa powder
- 100 grams ground almonds
- 1 orange zest only
Soak the dried fruits in the orange juice for at least half an hour and if possible over night.
Place these to one side while preparing the cake batter.
Line a deep cake tin (either 20cm round or 18cm square) and pre-heat the oven to gas mark 2 or 140C.
For the cake batter, begin by beating together the butter and sugar until it is creamy and fully combined.
Begin adding the eggs (one at a time) and beat well in between each addition.
Next, melt the chocolate gently in a bowl over a pan of hot water and fold into the butter, sugar and egg mix along with the seeds from the vanilla pod.
Fold in the self raising flour, cocoa, almonds and orange zest until a thick batter forms.
Add the fruits and orange juice to the bowl and mix thoroughly until the fruit goes all the way through the cake batter.
Pour into the lined tin and bake in the centre of the oven for 1 and a half hours or until the sponge bounces back when prodded with a finger or a skewer comes out clean.
Leave the cake in the tin to cool before decorating.
Calories: 541.69kcal | Carbohydrates: 81.83g | Protein: 7.94g | Fat: 23.23g | Saturated Fat: 11.48g | Trans Fat: 0.55g | Cholesterol: 82.58mg | Sodium: 151.49mg | Potassium: 532.02mg | Fiber: 6.26g | Sugar: 43.44g | Vitamin A: 539.85IU | Vitamin C: 11.05mg | Calcium: 82.15mg | Iron: 3.26mg