CHRISTMAS FRUIT AND NUT CAKE

Christmas Fruit and Nut Cake is a super delicious cake, loaded with dry fruits and nuts that will be loved by people of all age groups.

I have prepared this cake in a bundt pan. The dry fruits are soaked in wine for about a week before preparing this cake. This way you can enjoy a burst of holiday flavors with every bite of the cake. To make this cake healthier I have used a combination of vegetable shortening and butter. If you prefer you may replace vegetable shortening with butter, but I really could not make any difference in the taste by reducing the amount of butter in the recipe. You can vary the fruits and nuts as per your taste.

I received all the best compliments for this cake from my family and colleagues. Yeah!

Preparation time : 10 minutes + 70 minutes baking
Serves : 1 large bundt-style cake

Ingredients for Christmas Fruit and Nut Cake

Dried cranberries - ⅓ cup
Black raisins - ⅓ cup
Golden raisins - ⅓ cup
Dates - ⅓ cup
Wine - ½ cup
Butter unsalted - ½ cup ( 1 stick / 8 tablespoon at room temperature)
Vegetable shortening - ½ cup
Brown sugar - ¾ cup
Molasses - ½ cup
Milk - ¾ cup
Baking powder - 2 tsp
Orange zest - 1 ½ tbsp
Vanilla extract - 1 tsp
Salt - 1 tsp
Eggs - 3
All purpose flour - 3 ½ cup
Orange juice -  ¼ cup
Sliced almonds - ½ cup
Cashew chopped - ½ cup

Steps to prepare  Christmas Fruit and Nut Cake

Step I

• One week before baking, mix together the cranberries, black and golden raisins, dates in bowl. Pour 1 cup of wine. Cover it and refrigerate. ( ½ cup of wine mentioned in the recipe is the one that is drained off from the soaked fruits)

Step II

• Preheat the oven to 325 degree F. Grease bundt pan with butter or shortening.
• Dry roast the almonds and cashews till you get a nice aroma. Keep this aside.

Step III

• In a bowl, add butter, sugar, molasses, salt and beat together till it becomes light and fluffy.
• Add the eggs and beat it one at time.
• Now add wine, baking powder, vanilla extract, orange juice, orange zest, milk and stir it.
• Add the all purpose flour and stir again. Do not over mix.
• Fold in the soaked dry fruits, roasted nuts.

Step III

• Spoon the batter into lightly greased pan.
• Bake for 50 to 70 minutes or until its done. Knife inserted comes out clean. Baking time may vary depending on the size of your pan.
• Let it cool down for at least 10 minutes even before you flip from the pan.
• Christmas fruit and nut cake is ready. Serve and enjoy. Merry Christmas and happy holidays!

Tip:

• I have used moscato wine in my recipe.
• You can brush them with liqueur of your choice just before serving.
• Once it cools down completely, wrap them in foil or store in sealed container.