Sweet and seasonally spicy with half melted chunks of marzipan, dried fruit and pieces of dark chocolate. A super easy bake and perfect for busy people during the festive season, be that Christmas, New Year or Twelfth Night.
Prep Time20 minutesmins
Cook Time20 minutesmins
8 hourshrs
Total Time40 minutesmins
Course: Afternoon Tea, Dessert, Gift, Snack
Cuisine: British
Keyword: cakes, Christmas, marzipan, New Year, twelfth night
Place the sultanas and mixed peel, if using, into a bowl together with the ground almonds and rum. Leave to soak overnight.
Cream the butter and sugar until well combined.
Grate in the lemon zest.
Add the spices and cream some more until the mixture is very light and fluffy.
Beat in the eggs, one at a time. If the mixture curdles add a little of the flour.
Sift the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda through a large gauge sieve. Discard any large pieces of bran left in the seive.
Stir in alternately with the sour milk until everything is just combined.
Fold in the fruit and rum mixture, chocolate and marzipan.
Spoon into 15 lined cupcake moulds then scatter a few flaked almonds over the top of each one.
Bake at 180℃ (350℉, Gas 4) for 20 minutes or until risen and golden. Then turn out onto a rack to cool.
Dust with icing sugar or vanilla sugar when cool.
Notes
A little preparation is needed for soaking the fruit in the rum overnight. This isn't strictly necessary if you're in a rush, but the fruit will be lush and plump if you do it this way.They make excellent festive gifts and will keep well in a sealed container for a few days.Please note: calories and other nutritional information are per serving. They're approximate and will depend on serving size and exact ingredients used.