Macadamia, chocolate and brandy Christmas cake

This is a recipe I got from Prima magazine last year. It's really delicious and not quite as heavy as traditional Christmas cake.

You will need a 9" cake tin, greased and lined with a double layer of greaseproof paper about an inch higher than the tin. Wrap the outside with newspaper.

500g raisins and sultanas

150g chopped dates (although I didn't have enough dates so I've used glace cherries and some prunes to make the quanity up!)

200ml brandy

1 tbsp black treacle

Put all of these ingredients in a large bowl, mix, and leave to soak overnight.

225g butter, softened

225g light muscovado sugar

5 eggs

Cream the butter, then add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy.

Beat the eggs in one at a time.

300g plain flour

125g ground almonds

1 heaped tsp cinnamon

100g dark chocolate, finely chopped in the food processor

Mix these ingredients in a seperate bowl.

250g macadamia nuts (although I only had 200g but it seems pretty nutty)

Add the nuts to the bowl with the fruit and brandy mixture and stir in.

Place some flour mixture and some fruit mixture into the egg mixture. Fold in carefully. repeat until the whole lot is thoroughly combined.

Pour into your cake tin and make a dip in the middle. Poke any fruit or nuts under the surface to prevent them from burning.

 

Bake for 2 hours at 170 degrees in a preheated oven - a skewer should come out clean.

Allow to cool a little then remove from tin to cool on a wire rack.

Once cooked and cooled prick the surface with a skewer and pour 2 tbsp brandy over the surface every 2 weeks to keep it moist. Don't overdo it or your cake will be soggy!!