Medjool Date and Pineapple Christmas Cake
12
servings30
minutes2
hoursOven
Easy
Christmas is all about the cake. As soon as you smell fruit boiling in brandy you know festivities are coming. This date-filled Chrissy cake can be made a day ahead and still has that gorgeous rich finish we all long for with our cuppa over Christmas. Make a large cake for your household or split the batter into four small tins and gift them to friends.
Ingredients
375 g 375 Natural Delights Organic Medjool Dates
650 g 650 Mixed dried fruit (including peel, sultanas and currants)
125 g 125 Glace cherries, halved
200 g 200 Can crushed pineapple, well drained
250 g 250 Butter
1 cup 1 Brown sugar firmly packed
1/2 cup 1/2 Brandy
1/2 cup 1/2 Water
1 1 Orange, rind (rind removed with a peeler into thin strips)
1 tbsp 1 Molasses
2 2 Eggs lightly beaten
220 g 220 Plain flour (I used white spelt for a nice crumb)
100 g 100 Self-raising flour
1 1/2 tsp 1 1/2 Bicarbonate of soda
- Cream Cheese Frosting
65 gm 65 (2oz) Unsalted butter, softened
165 gm 165 (5oz) Cream cheese, softened
2 1/4 tsp 2 1/4 Finely grated lemon rind
3 1/3 cups 3 1/3 (540 grams) Icing sugar
- To Garnish
4 4 Medjool dates, pitted and halved
3 3 Dehydrated orange rounds
3 3 Dehydrated pineapple rounds
12 12 Glace cherries
6 6 Sprigs fresh rosemary
1 tbsp 1 Dried barberies or cranberries
6 6 Chocolate stars or gingerbread stars
To Prepare
- Cake
Butter and line a straight edged bundt tin with greaseproof paper, bringing paper 5 cm above the edge of tin. Combine fruit, butter, sugar, brandy, orange rind and water in a pan, stir over heat until butter is melted and sugar dissolved. Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer covered for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.
Stir in treacle and eggs. Stir in sifted dry ingredients, spread mixture evenly into tin.
Bake at 140°C for roughly 2 hours. Check the cake for doneness from 1.5 hours by testing with a skewer. When it comes out clean the cake is ready. Cover hot cake with foil and cool in tin. - Lemon Cream Cheese Icing
Beat butter, cream cheese and rind in a small bowl with an electric mixer until pale. Gradually add sifted icing sugar, beating until light and fluffy. - Garnish
Remove the cooled cake from the tin to a cake stand or plate. Generously pile cream cheese icing onto the cake top and use a spoon to evenly whirl around the icing.
Decorate by pushing three orange and pineapple rounds into the cake at even distance from one another. Dot in between the orange and pineapple with chocolate stars, dates, glace cherries, rosemary sprigs and barberries to create a wreath like effect.
Cooking Notes
- Test the cake for doneness from 1.5 hours as all our oven temperatures vary and the dates will steal moisture from the other ingredients. Go for slightly under rather than over cooked.
- While you can refrigerate this cake, make sure it is served at room temperature or microwave slices to warm and serve with custard or brandy butter.