Mini Chocolate Christmas Cakes
Ingredients
- 80ml fruit juice
- 425g mixed dried fruit, roughly chopped if required
- 75g butter, softened
- 70g brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
- 1 egg
- 75g self-raising flour
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 95g dark choc bits
- 250g packet ready-made white icing
Method
Heat juice in a microwave-safe bowl on high (100%) for 1 minute in microwave. Place dried fruit into a large mixing bowl, add juice and stir to coat. Cover and set aside for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
Note: You can use whichever juice and dried fruit to suit your tastes. We used orange juice with dried apricots, cranberries and sultanas. You could try tropical juice with dried pineapple, cranberries and raisins for a sweeter cake or simply use a mixed fruit mix.
Preheat oven to 160°C (fan-assisted 140°C). Grease a 12-hole muffin pan, line the bottom of each hole with a circle of baking paper.
Using an electric mixer, beat butter, sugar and vanilla until pale and creamy. Add egg. Beat to combine.
Pour butter mixture into fruit mixture. Sift flour and spice over mixture. Stir until combined. Stir in choc bits.
Spoon mixture into muffin holes to completely fill (these cakes will not rise). Smooth surface. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes in pan. Run a knife around edges to loosen cakes. Upturn each cake onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Roll icing out between 2 sheets of baking paper until 5mm thick. Using a 5cm star-shaped cookie cutter, cut stars out of icing. Place stars over upturned cakes, letting points hang over the sides. Enjoy or they can be wrap in cello and ribbon for a small Christmas gift.
PT60MPT30M