Rich Chocolate Fruit Cake Recipe

Ingredients

1 3/4 lb. canned pitted black cherries in syrup

1 c. dark raisins

3/4 c. finely chopped pitted dried dates

1/2 c. golden raisins

1/2 c. finely chopped pitted prunes

1 c. dried figs

1 c. marsala wine

1 c. pecans

1 1/2 stick butter

2 tsp. finely grated orange rind

1 1/4 c. firmly packed dark brown sugar

3 eggs

1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 c. self-rising flour

2 tbsp. cocoa powder

2 tsp. pie spice

3 oz. semi-sweet chocolate

7 oz. semi-sweet chocolate

1/2 c. heavy cream

Preparation

Step 1Drain cherries; reserve 1/3 cup syrup. Quarter cherries. Combine cherries with remaining fruit, 3/4 cup of the Marsala, and reserved cherry syrup in large bowl. Cover; stand overnight.Step 2Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Grease deep 9-inch round cake pan; line with two layers of parchment paper, extending paper 2 inches over edge of pan.Step 3Process half the nuts until ground finely; chop the remaining nuts coarsely.Step 4Beat butter, rind, and sugar in small bowl with electric mixer until combined; beat in eggs, one at a time. Mix butter mixture into fruit mixture; stir in sifted dry ingredients, chocolate, and ground and chopped nuts. Spread mixture into pan.Step 5Bake cake about 3 hours. Brush hot cake with remaining marsala, cover with foil; cool in pan.Step 6Make ganache: Stir ingredients in small saucepan over low heat until smooth. Refrigerate, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes or until spreadable.Step 7Spread cake with ganache; top with chocolate decoration (see tips below). Dust with sifted confectioners’ sugar to serve, if you like.

Ingredients#

Preparation#

Ingredients

Preparation