Last Minute Chocolate Christmas Cake

This is a last minute Christmas cake and would be a huge hit with any chocoholics out there. It’s a moist light chocolate fruity sponge with marzipan and chocolate fondant. For the white chocolate I used Green & Blacks. The marzipan of course need not be added if you don’t like the flavour just ice the top with chocolate fondant or plain fondant icing. I used homemade boozy mincemeat in my cake but a good jar of mincemeat from the shop would be adequate. It’s an easy cake to decorate and if you don’t have any gold stars you could cut a few out of fondant icing or marzipan and colour them with edible colour paste.

Just out of the oven

In all its glory

Sliced cake showing the texture

Last Minute Chocolate Christmas Cake

Ingredients

150g (5oz) soft butter

150g (5oz) light muscovado sugar

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 tsp chocolate extract (optional)

185g (6½oz) self-raising flour

40g (1½oz) cocoa powder

400g (14 oz) jar of luxury mincemeat

80g (3oz) each of sultanas and raisins

50g (2oz) blanched almonds, chopped

100g (4 oz) white chocolate, chopped
For Marzipan & Icing
225g (8 oz) marzipan
225g (8 oz) fondant icing
A little icing sugar
A little cocoa powder
1tbsp apricot jam
3 tbsp water
For decoration
Edible glitter Gold mini dagrees

9 - 10 edible gold stars
Gold ribbon, wide enough for the outside of the cake
Cake board 20cm (8 in)
A small star cookie cutter or make a card template to cut around.

You will also need a 20cm (8 in) springform round cake tin – greased with butter and then double lined with greaseproof paper on the base and sides. Baking paper to line the outside of the tin and tie with string leaving it higher than the greaseproof paper as in the picture *see method*

Method

Preheat the oven to 160°C/fan 140°C/Gas mark 3.

In a large mixing bowl add the butter and sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add the beaten egg and chocolate extract (if using) a little at a time, beating in between additions until fully combined. Fold in the luxury mincemeat, sultanas, raisins, almonds and chocolate. Sieve the self-raising flour and cocoa powder together then fold into the mixture until all combined.

Spoon into the prepared cake tin and level leaving a little indentation in the centre, this will give the cake a flat top when baked. Place the double thickness of baking paper around the outside of the cake tin and tie tightly with string. Place into lower part of the preheated oven for 1¾ - 2 hours or until cooked and firm to the touch and a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Leave in the cake tin to completely cool before removing from the tin to decorate.

In a saucepan place the apricot jam and 3 tablespoons of water and heat gently stirring until full incorporated to make a glaze to “glue” the marzipan, fondant icing and decorations onto the cake.

Roll the marzipan out onto a surface dusted lightly with icing sugar, use the base of the cake tin to cut around for the correct size. Take a pastry brush and with the apricot glaze lightly brush over the top of the cake. Take the circle of marzipan and place on the top of the cake and smooth down. Take the fondant icing and work cocoa powder into it until it’s coloured fully brown and blended in. Roll and cut out as for the marzipan but using cocoa powder for dusting the work surface instead. Lightly brush the top of the marzipan with the apricot glaze and place the cocoa fondant icing on top of the marzipan and again smooth down.

Place the cake carefully onto the cake board and with a little star cutter or template cut through the middle of the fondant, making sure not to cut through the marzipan. Sprinkle the gold mini dagrees into the star then with a little apricot glaze, stick the golden stars around the outside of the cake. Sprinkle over the top of the cake with edible glitter. Finally, tie a golden ribbon around the outside of the cake for that finishing touch.

Note, if the cake top appears to be browning to quickly in the oven, place a circle of baking paper over the top to help prevent the cake top from burning. The stars could also be made out of marzipan or fondant icing, cutting around small star templates or using small star cutters.