How To Make Buttered rum Christmas cake?
Prep Time:30 mins
Cook Time:3 hrs and 15 mins
Ingredients:
- 225g unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
- 4 large eggs, beaten
- 225g plain flour
- 2 tsp ground mixed spice
- zest 1 small orange
- 225g light muscovado sugar
- 85g pecans or walnuts, toasted, then roughly chopped
For the fruit:
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 5 tbsp dark rum
- 150ml cloudy apple juice
- 50g unsalted butter
- 800g mixed dried fruit (the kind that includes mixed peel)
- 175g dried cranberries
To feed the cake (each time):
- 2 tbsp dark rum
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
Directions:
Step 1:Start with the fruit. Put the apple juice in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Add the butter and melt, then remove from the heat and add the syrup and rum. Place the mixed fruit and cranberries in a large bowl, pour over the hot rum mixture, then cover with cling film and leave overnight.
Step 2:The next day, preheat the oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Grease a 20cm diameter round, deep cake tin and line it twice with non-stick baking paper. Beat the butter and sugar until creamy and pale, then gradually beat in the eggs until the mixture is light and fluffy. When the mixture starts to separate or become lumpy, add 1 tablespoon of flour and continue beating. Sift in the flour, spices and ¼ teaspoon salt and fold in with a large spoon. Fold in the orange zest, nuts, soaked fruit and soaking liquid.
Step 3:Spoon the batter into the tin, smooth the top and make a slight indentation in the centre with the back of the spoon. bake for 1 hr 30 mins, then reduce the oven to 140C/120C (fan/gas 1) and bake for a further 1 hr 45 mins or until the cake has risen, is a dark golden colour and a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Place the tin on a cooling rack and keep warm.
Step 4:To feed the cake for the first time, prick the top of the warm cake with a cocktail stick. Mix the rum and maple syrup together and pour slowly over the cake. Leave to cool completely, then remove the baking paper, wrap loosely in clean baking paper and shop in an airtight tin. Feed the cake every week to 10 days until you decorate it.
Step 5:You can find out how to frost, ice and decorate your cake under “Matching” in the instructions for our winter candle cake, glittering ball cake or glittering snowfetti cake.
