Mini Christmas Cakes

I love baking at Christmas time and one of my favourite gifts to have on hand are mini Christmas Cakes.  Individually wrapped they look festive and make either great gifts or you can set one at each place at the festive table.

This recipe was incorporated from food.com and I’ve made a few tweaks for my taste.

Ingredients

Yield
32-36 mini cakes

1 1⁄2 kg mixed dried fruit
50 ml dark rum (I buy a miniature bottle of rum)
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
60ml orange juice
1 tablespoon treacle or 1 tablespoon maples syrup
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
250 g butter, melted
1 1⁄2 cups plain flour
1⁄2 cup self-raising flour
200 g blanched almonds
150 g glace cherries

Directions

• Place mixed fruit into a very large basin add rum and mix well.Cover with plastic wrap and allow to stand overnight.
• The next day, preheat oven to 150°C (300°F) and arrange oven racks to accommodate muffin tins in the centre section of the oven.
• Place 2 muffin cases into each hole of 2 or 3, 12 hole muffin tins.
• One ingredient at a time, add the beaten eggs, orange juice, maple syrup and sugar to the fruit mixture, mixing well with a wooden spoon after each addition.
• Add cooled, melted butter and sifted flours and mix thoroughly.
• Spoon the mixture into the muffin cases, filling to almost full.Use the back of a spoon to smooth the top of each cake.
• Press a glace cherry into the centre of each cake and, around each cherry, press in 5 almonds to make ‘petals’- pointy end closest to the cherry.
• Bake, in batches if necessary, at 150°C (300°F) for about 40-45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of a cake comes out clean.
• When cooked, remove muffin tins from the oven, remove cakes in their papers from muffin tins and cool on racks.When cakes are completely cool, store in airtight tins and keep in a cool place or, if you’re in a warm climate, store in the refrigerator.
• Alternatively, wrap each cake, still in its paper, tightly in plastic wrap, pack into plastic freezer bags and freeze.
• Cakes will keep for at least a month if stored correctly or longer if frozen.

Note:  If you are feeling really adventurous you can ice them with fondant icing and decorate.

Wrap cakes in red cellophane with a green or gold curling ribbon.

Have a wonderful, happy and safe Festive Season.