Chocolate Cherry Fruitcake Recipes

CHOCOLATE FRUITCAKE

Steps:

• Put the butter, sugar, chocolate, brandy, vanilla and dried fruits into a large saucepan. Heat gently, stirring occasionally until everything has melted together. Remove from the heat.
• Heat oven to 150C/130C fan/gas 2. Line a deep cake tin, 20cm round or 18cm square, with a double layer of baking parchment. Wrap a few layers of newspaper around the outside and secure with string.
• Mix the flour, almonds, cocoa and spice together. Stir the eggs into the slightly cooled chocolate mixture in the saucepan, followed by the flour mixture. Scrape into your prepared tin and bake for 1½ hrs- 1 hr 45 mins or until a skewer poked in comes out clean. Cool in the tin, then decorate (see 'Goes well with', right, for decoration ideas). Greaseproof-wrapped cake will keep for 2 months in an airtight container.

CHOCOLATE CHIP FRUITCAKE

Steps:

• In a bowl, beat eggs and sugar. Combine flour, baking powder and salt; add to sugar mixture and mix well. Fold in pecans, dates, cherries and chocolate chips. Pour into a greased 9x5-in. loaf pan. Bake at 325° for 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 hours or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes; remove from pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

CHOCOLATE CHIP CHERRY FRUITCAKE LOAF

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 F and have ready a greased 9x5" loaf pan.
• Beat eggs and sugar in a large bowl until well combined.
• In another large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt.
• Add flour mixture to egg mixture and mix well.
• Add nuts, dates or raisins, 1 cup cherry halves,& the chocolate chips and stir gently to combine.
• Pour into a greased 9x5" loaf pan(mixture will be very thick).
• Garnish top with a row of cherry halves down the center of the batter- press gently so they stick.
• Bake in a preheated 325 F oven for 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours or until golden and a toothpick inserted near the center comes out mostly clean (there will be streaks of melted chocolate but not gobs of beige batter) - DO NOT OVERBAKE or it will be as hard as a rock.
• Let cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then remove from pan and let cool completely.
• Usually I slice the loaf after it has cooled and seal it in a plastic zip-top bag, which helps keep it from hardening up.

CHOCOLATE-CHERRY FRUITCAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F (180C.).
• A day or so before you make the cake, toss the cherries in 1/4 cup liquor. Cover, and let macerate (soak up the liquor).
• To bake the cakes, grease two 9-inch(23cm)loaf pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper and dust with cocoa powder.
• Sift together the flour, cocoa, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.
• In the bowl of a standing mixer, or by hand,.
• beat the butter and sugar until very light and fluffy. Stir together the eggs and yolk with the vanilla, then dribble them in while beating.
• Mix in one-third of the flour/cocoa mixture, then half of the buttermilk or yogurt. Then mix in another third of the dry ingredients, then the rest of the yogurt or buttermilk. Finally, add the remaining dry ingredients, and gently stir in the nuts, chocolate chips and cherries.(which should have absorbed all the liquid. If not, add that as well.).
• Divide and smooth the batter into the prepared loaf pans and bake for 45 minutes, or unril a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let stand on the counter-top for about 15 minutes.
• With a skewer, poke about 50 holes in the cake and spoon 3 tablespoons of liquor over each cake. Let cool.