Raisin, Currant & Grand Marnier Christmas Cake

By MiNDFOOD

Raisin, Currant and Grand Marnier Christmas Cake

Raisin, Currant and Grand Marnier Christmas Cake. This seriously delicious Christmas cake is full of festive cheer and subtle spices. 

Makes 18cm round cake + 4 small cakes

750g raisins
500g currants
1 cup Grand Marnier, or liqueur of choice
250g butter, at room temperature
1½ cups dark brown sugar
3 tsp vanilla extract
4 eggs
¾ cup dark plum jam
1 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
1 large orange, finely grated rind and ½ cup juice
2 cups plain flour
½ cup self-raising flour
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp mixed spice
1 tsp ground nutmeg
½ cup Grand Marnier, extra
1 cup icing sugar
500g packet fondant or white icing, for decorating

Place raisins, currants and Grand Marnier into a large bowl. Stir until well combined. Cover with plastic wrap and stand for 2 hours, preferably overnight.

Preheat oven to 160˚C. Grease and line base and sides of an 18cm (base) round cake pan and 4 x 8.5cm (base) x 6cm round cake pans with a double thickness of baking paper. Using an electric mixer, beat butter, sugar and vanilla until light and creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Transfer mixture to the bowl with fruit and stir until combined. Add jam, walnuts, rind and juice. Sift in flours, cinnamon, mixed spice and nutmeg.

Spoon cake mixture into prepared pans, smoothing top of cake with the back of a wet spoon. Wrap a double thickness of brown paper around large pan and secure with kitchen twine. Bake small cakes for 1¼ hours or until cooked through when tested in the centre with a skewer. Bake large cake for 21/4 -21/2 hours or until cooked through. Pour a little extra Grand Marnier over cakes when removed from oven. Leave large cake in pan and wrap a towel around cake and leave overnight to cool completely. Remove from pan and transfer to serving plate.

Lightly dust a flat surface with icing sugar. Place fondant on icing sugar. Using a rolling pin, roll fondant until 5mm thick. Using star biscuit cutters or snowflake press cutters cut shapes from fondant and decorate cakes. Dust with icing sugar. Serve.

 

 

 

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