A key element of Christmas is sharing decadent treats with loved ones. Whip up a modern or traditional bake to share.
Mulled wine bundt cake with chocolate holly and gilded cherries
SERVES 16-18 V
HANDS-ON TIME 45 MINS
TOTAL TIME 2 HRS, PLUS COOLING
If your family isn’t keen on a traditional, fruity Christmas cake, wow them with this fudgy, boozy centrepiece.
275g butter, diced, plus
15g melted butter, for greasing
50ml orange juice
75ml red wine
25ml brandy
1 tsp mixed spice
1 tsp ground cinnamon
150g dried cherries
275g dark chocolate (minimum 60% cocoa solids), finely chopped
400g light muscovado sugar
5 medium eggs
275g self-raising flour, plus extra for dusting
½ tsp baking powder
For the glaze
150ml double cream
3 tbsp golden syrup
150g dark chocolate, finely chopped
To decorate
50g dark chocolate a few holly leaves*, washed and dried
8 glacé cherries
2 sheets edible gold leaf
1 Preheat the oven to 170°C, fan 150°C, gas 3½. Grease a 24cm diameter bundt tin or ring mould (about 2.5 litre capacity) with the melted butter.
2 Put the orange juice, wine and brandy in a large pan with the spices and cherries then bring to just below the boil. Remove from the heat, add the butter and chocolate and return to a low heat until melted. Stir in the muscovado sugar then beat to dissolve any lumps. Cool until you can put your finger comfortably in the mixture.
3 Break the eggs into a jug and whisk with a fork, then beat this into the chocolate mixture. Mix in the flour and baking powder to form a smooth batter.
4 Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and level the surface. Bake for 1 hour-1 hour 10 minutes or until firm to the touch and a skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.
5 To make the glaze, put the cream in a small pan, add the golden syrup and heat gently until just reaching boiling point. Remove from the heat and add the chocolate. Leave for 1 minute then stir until smooth. Allow to cool and thicken for 5 minutes, then pour over the top and sides of the cake.
6 To make chocolate holly leaves, melt the chocolate in a small bowl over a pan of gently simmering water, then paint the melted chocolate over the back of the holly leaves. Place on a tray lined with baking paper and pop in the fridge to set for about 10 minutes, then repeat with a second coat of chocolate. Leave to set in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, then carefully peel away the holly leaves and discard. Roll the glacé cherries in a little gold leaf and arrange on top of the cake with the chocolate holly leaves.
■ 586cals; 31g fat (1
