Festive Chocolate Cake

Prep: 1 hr 0 min

Cook: 0 hr 45 min

Servings: 12 servings

This is a decadent dessert chocolate cake, not unlike a giant chocolate brownie. It has a soft gooey centre due to being soaked in brandy sugar once cooked. Serve with fresh cream or vanilla ice cream.

Ingredients

250g prunes (or dates), chopped

150ml brandy

1 teaspoon bicarb of soda

150ml boiling water

250g butter chopped into cubes (not melted)

180g sugar (3/4 cup)

2 eggs

300g (2 cups) Kialla White Unbleached Plain Flour

1 tablespoon cocoa powder

pinch of salt

300g dark chocolate (melted)

100g of almonds or hazelnuts chopped

100g of fresh pitted cherries, sliced (plus whole cherries for decoration)

Fresh blueberries and strawberries for decoration

ICING:

200g (1 cup) castor sugar

250ml water

20g (1 tablespoon) butter

80ml brandy

Icing sugar for dusting the top of the cake

Method

Soak the chopped prunes (or dates) and half the chopped cherries overnight, or at least 6 hours in 150ml of brandy.
Preheat the oven to 180ºC and line a 24cm round springform cake pan with baking paper.
Set the chocolate to melt in a double saucepan on the stove top.
Mix the prunes (or dates) and cherry mix with bicarb of soda and hot water.
In a mixing bowl sift together flour, cocoa powder and salt.
In a separate bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat for 10 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time beating lightly after each is added.
Stir in the date mixture. Then fold in the dry ingredients.
Fold in half the melted chocolate, and all the chopped nuts, then pour the batter into the prepared cake tin.
Top with the remaining chopped cherries and melted chocolate.
Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until done. This is a moist cake but when inserted a skewer should come out clear of cake batter.
When the cake is almost cooked, make the icing by heating all ingredients except brandy and icing sugar. Stir until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to boil and simmer for 5 minutes to form a syrup. Turn off the heat and add the brandy.
Pour the icing mix over the cake immediately that it comes out of the oven, and while still in the tin. Let stand for 5-10 minutes before removing from the spring form pan. If you don’t have a spring form pan then immediately remove cake from tin and place on a plate, before pouring over the icing.
Leave the cake to cool before dusting with icing sugar and decorating with fresh berries and whole cherries.

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Festive Chocolate Cake