Home
Premium
Chocolate cherry jewelled Christmas cake

Two cherry jewelled Christmas cakes

Chocolate cherry jewelled Christmas cake

Name: Chocolate cherry jewelled Christmas cake
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 1 h 20 min
Total time: 1 h 50 min
Yield: Makes 2 (serves 16)
Ingredients: 200g dried sour cherries; 200g raisins; 150g sultanas; 100g mixed peel; 300ml cherry brandy; 250g unsalted butter softened, plus extra for the tin; 250g light brown soft sugar; 4 eggs; 200g self-raising flour; 50g cocoa powder; ¾ tsp ground cinnamon; 100g dark chocolate chopped; 100g ground almonds; 200g marzipan; 3 tbsp apricot jam; 125g blanched almonds; 125g dark glacé cherries halved; 125g shelled pistachios

Samuel Goldsmith

Save recipe

Makes 2 (serves 16)

Easy

Prep: 30 mins

Cook: 1 hr and 20 mins

plus overnight soaking and cooling

A star rating of 4 out of 5.1 ratingRate

loading...

If you're looking for thoughtful gifts, our ‘keep one, gift one’ chocolate jewelled Christmas cake is ideal. It makes two, so you can keep one for yourself

Vegetarian

Skip to ingredients

Alternatives

Complete the dish

Showing items 1 to 3 of 3

Chestnut profiteroles

A star rating of 3 out of 5.2 ratings

App onlyChorizo hash browns. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A star rating of 2.4 out of 5.5 ratings

Sunken chocolate, olive oil & hazelnut cake

A star rating of 4.8 out of 5.11 ratings

Ingredients

Nutrition

Units:

MetricUS

200g dried sour cherries
200g raisins
150g sultanas
100g mixed peel
300ml cherry brandy
250g unsalted butter

softened, plus extra for the tin
250g light brown soft sugar
4 eggs
200g self-raising flour
50g cocoa powder
¾ tsp ground cinnamon
100g dark chocolate

chopped
100g ground almonds

To decorate

200g marzipan
3 tbsp apricot jam
125g blanched almonds
125g dark glacé cherries

halved
125g shelled pistachios

Keep the screen awake with cook mode on the Good Food app.

Nutrition: Per serving

kcal272
fat21g
saturates11g
carbs12g
sugars10g
fibre3g
protein6g
salt0.4g

Method

step 1

The night before you want to make the cake, tip the dried cherries, raisins, sultanas and mixed peel into a bowl and pour over the cherry brandy. Leave overnight to soak.
step 2

Heat the oven to 150C/130C fan/ gas 2. Butter a deep 20cm square cake tin, or two loaf tins. If using a square tin, you will need to divide the tin into two sections. To do this, first cut out a 40cm-long piece of foil-lined baking parchment, or lay a 40cm-long sheet of baking parchment over the same-sized sheet of foil. Fold in the middle to create a divider that is at least as high as the tin, which, when arranged inside it, will create two 10cm-wide sections. Fit it neatly, parchment-side up, and trim it if you need to.
step 3

Beat the butter and sugar together using an electric whisk or in a stand mixer for a few minutes until slightly pale and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, adding a spoonful of flour between each addition. Sift in the remaining flour, the cocoa powder and cinnamon, then beat to combine. Fold in the chocolate, ground almonds and soaked fruit (including any leftover brandy in the bowl). Spoon half the mixture into each section of the cake tin. Bake for 1 hr 20 mins-1 hr 50 mins, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool fully in the tin, then remove to a plate or board.
step 4

To decorate, roll out the marzipan until it’s about ½cm thick, and large enough to cut out two rectangles that are the same size as the top of each cake. Warm the apricot jam briefly to loosen, either in a small pan set over a low heat or in the microwave in short bursts (or simply stir), then brush this over the cakes. Lay a rectangle of marzipan over each cake, then push down gently to help it stick. Brush the top of the cake with more of the apricot glaze, then decorate with the almonds, glacé cherries and pistachios, lightly pressing them into the marzipan. Will keep for up to two weeks in an airtight container.

Recipe tip

If you have a battenberg tin, you can use this instead of separating the tin into two halves yourself.

Recipe from Good Food magazine, Christmas 2023

Comments, questions and tips

Rate this recipe

What is your star rating out of 5?1 star out of 52 stars out of 53 stars out of 54 stars out of 55 stars out of 5

Choose the type of message you'd like to post

CommentQuestionTip

Overall rating

A star rating of 4 out of 5.1 rating

Get 3 months of Good Food All Access

Get 3 months of Good Food All Access for just £6. Find triple-tested recipes that take the stress out of deciding what to cook, spend less time planning, and more time enjoying the season.

Subscribe now