This beautiful alternative to Christmas cake, adapted from Jane Grigson’s Fruit Book (Penguin Cookery Library), would make a great teatime treat over the holidays.
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp hazelnut oil or melted butter, plus extra for greasing
- 500g plain flour, sifted
- 225g golden caster sugar
- 4 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 350ml whole milk
- 200g fresh (or frozen and thawed) cranberries, coarsely chopped
- 100g mixed dried fruit
- 100g skinned roasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped
For the cranberry sauce
- 200g fresh or frozen cranberries
- 100g caster sugar
- Seeds from 1/2 vanilla pod or 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- Juice of 4 small oranges
Method
- 1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan160°C/gas 4. Grease and baseline a deep, 2-litre loaf tin. Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Beat the eggs, milk and oil or butter in another bowl, then fold into the dry ingredients, followed by the fruit and nuts. Spoon the mixture into the loaf tin and bake for 55 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- 2. Meanwhile, make the sauce. Put the cranberries, sugar, vanilla and orange juice in a saucepan over a medium heat. Cook for 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the fruit breaks down and the mix looks jammy. Set aside to cool and thicken.
- 3. Serve the cake in slices with the cranberry sauce and some butter or cream cheese, if you wish.
Nutritional info
Per slice: 398kcals, 11g fat (1.7g saturated), 7.8g protein, 71.3g carbs, 37g sugar, 0.9g salt