Fruited Chocolate Cake

You might remember me writing about hosting my first Clandestine Cake Club a few weeks ago. Well here at last is the recipe for the cake I took with me.

The title Fruit Cake often brings to mind something quite plain and unexciting (well it does to me anyway). Lots of dried fruit, maybe some nuts, but nothing particularly indulgent unless you decide to cover it in marzipan and icing. Well this cake breaks all the rules by being anything but plain and boring. Yes it has plenty of dried fruit, but this is immeasurably boosted by the large amount of milk chocolate and the small but crucial ounce of cocoa powder added to the mix. The other bit of magic in this cake comes from the chunks of ginger which add a delicious spicy warmth. It does still look like quite a plain cake but trust me, this is a real gem.

The next Bury St Edmunds Clandestine Cake Club has been arranged for Saturday 14th July and you can find all the details here. Alternatively you can find details of all the events coming up across the country and beyond here.

Fruited Chocolate Cake

(adapted from the Marks & Spencer book, Chocolate)

2505/8oz unsalted butter or margarine, softened
250g/8oz light muscovado sugar
275g/9oz plain flour
25g/1oz cocoa powder
1 teaspoon ground mixed spice
4 eggs
200g/7oz mixed nuts, eg Brazil nuts, almonds and hazelnuts, roughly chopped
250g/8oz milk chocolate, chopped
100g/3 1/2oz chopped glace ginger
250g/8oz mixed dried fruit

1) Preheat the oven to 150c/300f/Gas Mark 2. Grease and line a 20cm/8 inch round cake tin. Cream the butter and sugar together until softened.

2) Add the eggs and beat until smooth. Sift the flour, cocoa and mixed spice into the bowl and mix together.

3) Reserve 25g/1oz of the chopped nuts, 40g/1 1/2oz of the chopped chocolate and half the glace ginger. Add the remainder to the cake mix, together with the mixed dried fruit, and stir until evenly combined.

4) Turn the mixture into the prepared tin and level the surface. Scatted with the reserved nuts, chocolate and ginger.

5) Bake for 1 1/4 to 1 1/12 hours until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin.

Serves 12-14