From our experts at The Best Bakery in Ahmedabad, Café Upper’s kitchen, — The Perfect way to Celebrate this Festive Christmas Season! From the ovens of Café Upper Crust, a purely Christmas-y Delight recipe! These quick-to-cook Mini Christmas Cakes are perfect for your kids and their friends coming over during this Christmas!
Mini Christmas Cakes Recipe
Ingredients
For the base Cake:
- 3 cups dried currants
- 1 1/4 cups raisins
- 1 cup sultana raisins
- 1/2 cup candied red cherries, chopped
- 8 fluid ounces brandy
- grated zest of 1 large orange
- grated zest of 1 large lemon
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 3 large eggs, beaten
- 1 tablespoon molasses, or more to taste
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup self-rising flour
- 1/4 cup ground almonds
- 2 teaspoons mixed spice
- 1/2 cup ground almonds
To Garnish:
- 6 tablespoons apricot jam
- 2 1/2 (4 ounces) packages marzipan
- 1/2 (1 lb 8 oz) box white fondant
- 1 teaspoon blue food coloring
Instructions
- Firstly, Mix the candied cherries sultana raisins, raisins, and currants, into a plastic container with a lid. Pour brandy over this dried fruit; stir in orange and lemon zest. Close container and set aside to soak for 2 to 3 days. Stir or shake container every few hours, which you must remember to do dutifully.
- Secondly, Preheat your Oven to 135 degrees C (275 degrees F). Arrange 24 cupcake cases into a baking sheet or lightly Grease or butter 24 ramekins.
- Combine 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons butter and 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons brown sugar in a bowl, and beat with an electric mixer until mixed thoroughly.
- Add eggs and molasses, and beat well. Stir in the all-purpose flour, self-rising flour, almonds, and mixed spice.
- Next pour in almonds and soaked fruit into the flour and fold well until uniformly scattered into the batter. Spoon mixture into the prepared cases or ramekins.
- Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a cake comes out clean, which usually takes almost 90 minutes. Allow cooling on the tray or the cupcake cases.
- Store in airtight tins or wrap them tightly in greaseproof paper and aluminum foil for at least 10 days before taking for garnishing or decorating.
Garnishing:
- When garnishing — Heat jam in the microwave for 10 seconds until warm, and brush onto each cake.
- Roll out marzipan between 2 sheets of plastic wrap. Cut out circles with a round cookie cutter or a glass with the same diameter as your baked mini cakes. Arrange marzipan circles on top of the jam on each mini fruitcake. Store fruitcakes in an airtight container before finishing the final decoration, for 8 hours or maybe overnight.
- Roll out white fondant between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and cut out circles with the same diameter as the cakes. Press a cookie stencil with a snowflake pattern onto the fondant circles. Colour in the snowflake pattern with blue food coloring using a small brush and place on top of the marzipan layer. Repeat with remaining cakes.
Expert Café Upper Crust Tip
You can further decorate the fruit cakes, using fondant, marzipan fruits, colored sugars, or other holiday decorations!
In Conclusion, Cafe Upper Crust Recipes are aimed to provide a healthy guide to making oven or dessert items within the comfort & ease of your home kitchens. Such cooking results may differ from those results of professional chefs’ practices & recipes. These recipes may or may not be available at our eatery outlets, at the time of posting these blogs.
