Coffee Fruit Cake

Shall I be controversial and say lots of people don't like fruit cake? I'm not even sure I do, but this one will change your mind.  No, really.  It has coffee; it has chocolate; it has fruit and somehow it all comes together in a moist, fruity, chocolatey bite. And even better, it is so very quick and easy to make and bake. You could even put it together for an afternoon tea if you had a few hours notice.

moist, chocolatey, fruity cake 

ingredients:


1 kg. dried fruit - your choice; I used about 400g. of sultanas, 200g. currants, 200g. sour cherries and craisins, and 200g. prunes

2 cups (500mL) strong espresso coffee, freshly made and still hot 

3 large eggs

3/4 cup (159g.) dark brown sugar 

150g. of 70% dark chocolate, roughly chopped (add a 30g. Flake bar too if you feel like extra chocolate - I did!) = 180g! (optional)

2 cups (264g.) self-raising flour


Method:



Place the fruit in a large mixing bowl

Make up the coffee and pour it over the fruit

Allow to steep for at least one hour; even overnight is fine

Butter and line the base and sides of a 20cm X 20cm cake tin - mine is about 8 cm deep

Beat the eggs and sugar in a small bowl with a fork until combined

Add this mix to the large bowl, along with the chopped chocolate and the flour

Give it a good stir till well mixed

Bake in a 180C oven for about 1 hour; test with a skewer in the centre to see if it comes out clean.  If so, you know it's done; otherwise, keep checking it every 5 mins. till done

Then leave it to cool for 10 minutes in the tin; I accidentally left mine in the tin for about an hour and it was fine

Turn out onto a wire rack till completely cold

Wrap very well in baking paper and several layers of alfoil, and store in the fridge in an airtight container



Notes:


This is a recipe by Alison Alexander, a well-known Brisbane food consultant.  She devised this delicious cake for a coffee roasting house here

I soaked my fruit for about 4.5 hours and it was perfectly plump and moist.  I used 450mL of coffee and 50mL of spiced rum!

Alison suggests a 20cm X 28cm tin but I found my square tin worked perfectly, though it did need a few more minutes baking.  Depending on your oven (mine is veeery slow), it may take up to another 30 minutes to bake

coffee-soaked fruit and some of the other ingredients   

eggs and brown sugar forked together, plus chopped chocolate 

everything mixed in well

butter and line the tin with baking paper; give it a bit of a collar  

ready to bake for an hour in a 180C oven

 and cooked! not burnt, just the fruit looking a bit brown :=) 

Santa guarding his slice

I think you would agree this is an easy cake to put together, and makes you look like a champ.  I'm sure your family and friends will think you slaved over it for hours.

my plunger doodle