Name: Rich chocolate fruit cake
Cook time: 230 min
Total time: 230 min
Yield: 20
Ingredients: 850 gram canned seeded black cherries in syrup; 1 cup (150g) raisins, chopped coarsely; 3/4 cup (120g) seeded dried dates, finely chopped; 1/2 cup (80g) sultanas; 1/2 cup (95g) seeded prunes, finely chopped; 1 cup (200g) dried figs, chopped finely; 1 cup (250ml) marsala; 1 cup (120g) pecans; 185 gram butter, softened; 2 teaspoon orange rind, finely grated; 1 1/4 cup (275g) firmly packed dark brown sugar; 3 eggs; 1 1/4 cup (185g) plain (all-purpose) flour; 1/2 cup (75g) self-raising flour; 2 tablespoon cocoa powder; 2 teaspoon mixed spice; 100 gram dark eating (semi-sweet) chocolate, chopped finely; Ganache; 200 gram dark eating (semi-sweet) chocolate, chopped coarsely; 1/2 cup (125ml) pouring cream

Ingredients

850 gram canned seeded black cherries in syrup

1 cup (150g) raisins, chopped coarsely

3/4 cup (120g) seeded dried dates, finely chopped

1/2 cup (80g) sultanas

1/2 cup (95g) seeded prunes, finely chopped

1 cup (200g) dried figs, chopped finely

1 cup (250ml) marsala

1 cup (120g) pecans

185 gram butter, softened

2 teaspoon orange rind, finely grated

1 1/4 cup (275g) firmly packed dark brown sugar

3 eggs

1 1/4 cup (185g) plain (all-purpose) flour

1/2 cup (75g) self-raising flour

2 tablespoon cocoa powder

2 teaspoon mixed spice

100 gram dark eating (semi-sweet) chocolate, chopped finely

Ganache

200 gram dark eating (semi-sweet) chocolate, chopped coarsely

1/2 cup (125ml) pouring cream

Method

1.Drain cherries, reserve ⅓ cup syrup. Quarter cherries. Combine cherries with remaining fruit, ¾ cup of the marsala and reserved cherry syrup in large bowl. Cover, stand overnight.

2.Preheat oven to 150°C (130°C fan forced). Grease deep 22cm (9-inch) round cake pan, line with two layers of baking paper, extending paper 5cm (2 inches) over edge of pan.

3.Process half the nuts until ground finely chop the remaining nuts coarsely.

4.Beat butter, rind and sugar in small bowl with electric mixer until combined, beat in eggs, one at a time. Mix butter mixture into fruit mixture, stir in sifted dry ingredients, chocolate and ground and chopped nuts. Spread mixture into pan.

5.Bake cake about 3 hours. Brush hot cake with remaining marsala, cover with foil, cool in pan.

6.Make ganache. Stir ingredients in small saucepan over low heat until smooth. Refrigerate, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes or until spreadable.

7.Spread cake with ganache, top with chocolate decoration. Dust with sifted icing (confectioners’) sugar to serve, if you like.

We painted a branch of real holly roughly with melted dark chocolate to make the inedible decoration on the cake. Remove cake from fridge, then top with the chocolate decoration.
Note

Women's Weekly Food

Trusted by home cooks for 90 years, The Australian Women’s Weekly’s Test Kitchen and cookbooks hold a singular place in shaping home cooking within the Australian culinary landscape. Today, the AWW Test Kitchen in Sydney is a thriving hub for food content, connected to two bustling photographic studios where a talented team of Australia’s best recipe developers, art directors, editors and photographers create our world class food content. Our recipes are thoroughly tested and tasted and given the Test Kitchen tick of approval, guaranteeing you’ll get great results in your home kitchen.

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