This Rooibos Infused Christmas Fruit Cake is perfect for Christmas! So fruity, moist, and incredibly beautiful.
Ingredients
- 3 Rooibos tea bags
- 375 ml boiling water**** see below
- 375g (3cups) fruit cake mix
- 100gr glazed cherries
- 125g butter
- 225gr sugar (1 1/4cups)
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 250gr (2 cups) self-raising flour
- 2 eggs slightly beaten
- 100gr chopped walnuts or pecan nuts
Method
- Put the tea bags in a pot and pour the boiling water over them.
- Leave for a good 10 mins to infuse.
- Squeeze them out and throw them away, then mix the fruit into the tea.
- Boil together with the butter and sugar for approx 15 mins.
- Once boiled stir in the bicarbonate of soda and set aside to allow to cool.
- Set the oven to 170°C and grease and line your square or round 22 cm cake tin with brown paper then grease again
- Once the mixture has cooled add the flour, beaten eggs, and nuts and mix well.
- Spoon the mixture into the tin and level the top.
- Bake for 1 hour, or until risen and firm to the touch.
- Cool in the tin for 10 mins, then turn out to cool on a wire rack.
- Once cooled wrap in tin foil and then in cling wrap. Store in an airtight container.
- Tip: Cover the cake with tin foil if necessary towards the end of the baking time if you feel it’s getting too brown.
- Note**** I used 100 ml brandy and 275 ml boiling water.
- Alternatively, you can add some orange juice instead of brandy.
- Note**** I feed the cake every week for 3 weeks leading up to Christmas with 2 tbsp brandy. Pour over the cake then re-wrap before finally icing the cake.
- Fondant Icing and decorating
- Ice the cake with a thin layer of Marzipan and a layer of White Fondant icing.
- Store-bought (Trumps).
- Over the cold cake apply some heated apricot jam with a brush then roll your marzipan thinly. Drape over the cake.
- Cut and trim your edges. Roll white fondant icing out and drape over the marzipan.
- Cut and trim your edges.
- Decorate with Christmas fondant cutouts and wrap a ribbon around the cake and you have one festive fruitcake.
Original Source Gail Haselsteiner
Prepared, tried, and tested by: Corlea Smit
