Christmas Genoa Cake
This festive fruitcake recipe is a delightful blend of cherries, pineapple, apricots, almonds, and sultanas, all enveloped in a moist and rich cake batter. Topped with blanched whole almonds, walnut halves, glacé cherries, and orange peel, this cake promises a burst of flavors in every bite. Perfect for special occasions or as a thoughtful homemade gift, this recipe is sure to impress with its deliciously festive appeal.
— Constant Cookbook
Ingredients
- 350g/12oz red or natural (uncoloured) glacé cherries
- 225g/8oz tinned pineapple in pineapple juice
- 50g/2oz ready-to-eat dried apricots
- 100g/3½oz blanched almonds
- 2 lemons
- 350g/12oz sultanas
- 250g/9oz unsalted butter
- 250g/9oz caster sugar
- 5 large free-range eggs
- 250g/9oz self-raising flour
- 75g/2½oz ground almonds
- small handful blanched whole almonds
- small handful walnut
- small handful red or natural (uncoloured) glacé cherries
- 50g/1¾oz whole orange
- 100g/3½oz apricot jam
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 160C/140C Fan/Gas 3. Grease a deep, 23cm/9in round cake tin with butter, then line the base and sides with a double layer of baking parchment.
- In a bowl, gently mix together the cherries, pineapple, apricots, almonds, lemon zest and sultanas until well combined. Set aside.
- In a food processor, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Pour in the beaten eggs a little at a time, adding a spoonful of the flour to prevent the mixture from curdling and pulsing after each addition.
- Carefully fold the remaining flour and ground almonds into the cake mixture using a metal spoon, then gently fold in the fruit and nut mixture until just combined.
- Pour the cake mixture into the prepared tin and smooth the surface using a palette knife.
- For the topping, decorate the cake with the blanched whole almonds, walnut halves, glacé cherry halves and orange peel.
- Bake the cake in the oven for 2-2¼ hours, or until golden-brown on top and cooked through. (The cake is cooked through when a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.) Cover the cake loosely with aluminium foil after one hour to prevent the top from becoming too dark.
- Set the cake aside in its tin to cool for 30 minutes, then remove from the tin, peel the baking parchment away from the sides and place onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- Meanwhile, heat the apricot jam in a small pan over a low heat, then strain through a fine sieve to remove any pieces of fruit. When the cake has cooled, brush the top all over with the warm apricot jam. Wrap a ribbon around the cake and tie with a bow, if desired, then serve.
Prep Time
PT30M
Yield
Makes 1 x 23cm/9in cake
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