Chocolate Fruit Cake Recipe

Prep time: 30 min

Cook time: 65 min

Yield: 30

Main Ingredients: flour mixed fruits

Ingredients

Maida - 3 cups, (all purpose flour)
Cocoa powder - 3/4 cup
Baking powder - 1 tsp
Baking soda - 1 tsp
Salt - 1 tsp
Cinnamon powder - 3/4 tsp
Nutmeg powder - 1/2 tsp
Clove powder - 1/2 tsp
Butter - 1 1/2 cups
Sugar - 1 1/2 cups
Brown sugar - 3/4 cup
Vanilla essence - 2 tsps
Eggs - 5
Buttermilk - 1 1/4 cups, (or thick yogurt)
Mixed dried fruits - 2 1/2 cups - toss in 1 1/2 tbsps flour (refer fruit cake recipe on how to make mixed dried fruits in rum or orange juice)
Mixed nuts - 1/2 cup (I used almonds)
Glazed cherries - 1/2 cup (chopped)
Chocolate chips - 1/2 cup

Pre-heat oven to 160 C. Grease four 7" cake pans and line with parchment paper.
Sieve flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon powder, clove powder and nutmeg powder. Keep aside the dry ingredients.
In a large bowl, cream the softened butter for a minute. Add sugar and brown sugar and beat until the sugar is well blended. Add lightly beaten eggs, vanilla essence and mix well.
Add a third of the dry ingredients and mix to combine. Add a third of the yogurt/buttermilk and mix. Again add a third of the dry ingredients and mix, followed by the yogurt. Repeat this process and end with the dry ingredients. Do not over beat.
Fold in the chocolate chips, mixed fruits, glazed cherries and chopped nuts. Do not over mix.
Pour batter into prepared pans till half full.
Bake in a pre-heated oven at 160C for 55 mts and for 10 to 15 mts at 130C or until a toothpick inserted in its center comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Wrap in plastic foil and leave for 12 to 24 hours at room temperature.
Slice and serve.

If you do not have glazed cherries, you can omit them.
Use any nuts of your choice.
All ingredients should be at room temperature.
If you do not have brown sugar, replace it with granulated sugar.
The above recipe makes a lot of cake batter. You can halve the recipe and make 2 large cakes or 4 medium sized round cakes.
Oven temperatures differ from oven to oven. For larger cakes, bake for a slightly longer time and lesser time for smaller cakes. Do not over bake or the cake will become dry. Check from 50 mts onwards.