Christmas cake for fruit-hater

[Selks]

I'd like to make some kind of festive cake but I'm not keen on masses of dried raisins or currants.
Can anyone suggest anything that's not a chocolate cake?
Fancy some spice, nuts maybe, figs, dates and marzipan is ok....
Thanks.

Victria spong [gri]

What about Nigella Lawson Clementine cake? Think you can vary it and lok at g=doing some sort of spices in it, or at least top it with the maya gold spiced chocolate? Bloody gorg, it is!

Thanks, will look at the Clementine cake recipe, sounds possible.
Anyone else got any thoughts?

Chocolate swiss roll 'Christmas log' (lots of butter icing)
Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall's chocolate chestnut cake theordinarycook.co.uk/tag/river-cottage/

How about Stollen? If you make it yourself you can put figs/spice/candied peel in it instead of dried fruit.

YYY to clementine cake . It was lush. Dutch apple and walnut cake is good too and solid enough to top with marzipan . I will check back later and post the apple cake recipe if wanted.

This is bog standard sponge. But looks gorgeous.

iambaker.net/christmas-cake

Thanks all. Stollen .... Now there's an idea....we love marzipan, it could work.... No idea how to make it though; off to google.

Trumpton, I would love the Dutch apple and walnut cake recipe please! Thanks

Jennie's Dutch Apple Cake

2 Bramley apples ,peeled and chopped roughly.

Rub together

4oz brown +4oz white sugar
4tsp baking powder
4oz brown +4oz white flour
6 oz butter.

Stir in

Chopped apples
4oz walnuts
1tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
2 eggs

Stir very well it will turn cakey eventually.

Turn into 8 inch round lined tin

170 degrees for 1hr or poss 1hr 30 mins.

I also add a tbs of golden syrup .(DD frowned on this but conceeded it did taste good )

Best eaten the next day if you can wait or failing that warm with good icecream.

Thanks very much Trumpton, it sounds delish. I'm going to give it a trial run this weekend.

Oooh, I'm making that apple and walnut cake RIGHT NOW!

(or would if I didn't have slight issue of 10 month old leg growth, aka. DS2, who will not detatch in order to allow me to bake. )

What about a Tunis Cake...and go to town on the marzipan fruits as decoration.

Not sure if its the taste or texture of fruits that you dont like?

When I make my christmas cake im going to zapp the fruits in my food processor first.

If that appeals look for a recipe for caribbean 'black' cake or caribbean christmas cake.

Amber, how does blitzing the fruit affect baking and general consistency of the cake? I quite like the sound of an even denser, smoother fruit cake.

There is a delia smith Italian chocolate and nut one which has a little spice in but is basically lots of dark choc and nuts

Italian chocolate

Reshape

It is divine

Im no expert, but baking wise it seems to work?

Ive only ever made it like that so I cant really compare to a non zapped fruit one.

It is dense but moist.

heres a recipe for Jamaican black cake

There are lots of recipes available online, the one above uses the zapping soaked fruits method but not all do.

My recipe is on a bit of paper in a drawer somewhere hopefully i'll find it soon its not too different to the one in the link but I think they all vary slightly. My fruits have been soaking for literally years so im really looking forward to the end product! ive used cherry brandy and dark rum. my fruit/booze mixture also has cashew nuts in.

Give it a go!

Thanks!

OMG Gigondas that Italian chocolate christmas cake looks incredible....thanks....might end up with two cakes now...

Thanks everyone

I hate fruit cake period. However, my mother-in-law makes a beautiful Caribbean cake which is full of fruits but I don't taste the fruits at all because it's all minced up! I don't bother with Christmas dinner. Give me my cake(boozy and rich) with M&S luxury custard and I am in heaven!

Panforte is yummy if you're okay with mixed peel or other fruits. I've made it with dried sweetened pinapple, mango & guava (or something similar - it was an exotic fruits mix).

Thanks for the thread, OP. I've recently discovered that raisins & currants make me unwell and I was feeling miserable about Christmas baking - now I feel inspired. :)

What kind of texture does panforte have, AngelDog? Looking at recipes it looks like it might be chewy and a bit hard due to the boiled honey? Or is it at all cakey?

Yes, it is pretty chewy. I've not made the recipe I linked to, but the book I got the recipe from describes it as a 'nougat-type cake'. Kind of a cross between a cake and a huge toffee-type sweet IYSWIM.

Mmmmm! I might need to make one of those as well as a cake!