* Nigella Lawson Christmas Chocolate Cake Recipe *

Looking for that perfect desert to serve at Christmas, and haven’t got time well look no further, here’s Nigella Lawson easy chocolate fruit cake a dark, moist a truely scrumptuous chocolate cake for all the family to enjoy.  *                               

Serves 12

Ingredients

350g/12oz dried soft prunes, chopped

250g/9oz raisins

125g/4oz currants

175g/6oz unsalted butter, softened

175g/6oz dark muscovado sugar

175ml/6fl oz honey

125ml/4fl oz coffee liqueur

2 oranges, juice and zest only

1 tsp mixed spice

2 tbsp cocoa

3 free-range eggs, beaten

150g/5 1/4 oz plain flour

75g/2 1/2 oz ground almonds

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2tsp bicabonate of soda

For decoration

25g/1 oz dark chocolate covered coffee beans

Disco Gold hologram glitter

2 mm gold mini balls

appox 10 gold stars

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 150C/130C Fan/Gas mark 2                                        *

2. Line the sides and bottom of a 20cm/8in ,9cm/3 1/2in deep, round loose-bottomed cake tin with a layer of bake-o-glide, or other reusable silicon-baking parchment.When lining the tin with the bake-o-glide,  cut the material into strips that are twice as high as the tin itself (its easier to use two shorter strips of bake-o-glide, than one long strip); the height of the strips protects the cake from catching on the outside of the tin.                   *                                                                                           *

3. Place the fruit, butter, sugar, honey, coffee liquer, orange zest, 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. Then remove the saucepan from the heat and leave to stand for 30 minutes.                                           *

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

5. Carefully pour the fruit cake mixture into the bake-o-glide lined cake tin. Transfer the cake tin to the oven and bake for 1 3/4 -2 hours , or until the top of the cake is firm but has a shiny and sticky look. At this point, insert a cake tester into the middle of the cake, the cake should still be a little uncooked in the middle.

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

7. 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 of the cake. Sprinkle the Disco Gold hologram glitter over the top of the cake.                                      *

Enjoy  *