There are two kinds of people in this world. Non-Christmas cake eaters and those who so besotted that they do Christmas twice. Once in July and again in December. I’m with the latter, lover of all things fruity – mince pies, steamed pudding and a good old brandy-ied up fruit cake. Underneath these white capped snow-cones, lies the marriage of two favourites – Sticky toffee pudding & Christmas cake. Now you can have your cake and pudding in one!
To test whether I could sway the opinion of non-cake eaters, I dolled out slices for testing. Mmmmmm… Oh, wow! What is this? It’s divine. Ok, just one more slither ….. And just like that, there were cake converts. The flavour of this cake is all toffee pudding-ish with plumped-up brandy fruits. Sounds rather fabulous! There are a couple of very convincing reasons to making this Christmas cake. If, like me, you’re slow out the blocks and miss the cut-off date for when you should’ve baked theChristmas cake by, this recipe will save the day. There’s no boozy feeding schedule or perfect maturity date. It’s a case of frost it, eat it. Grab the plates & cake forks and dig in! Now that’s a cake I can get behind.
So here’s what you need to get going….. A red bucket. Yip, that’s it. Food Lover’s have made end of year festive baking a breeze with their Luxury Festive Cake Mix. It’s packed with more than enough glazed fruit and nuts to bake several cakes. The nifty red bucket is available exclusively at Food Lover’s markets. You can grab one for R 69,99. I had plenty left over, so I’m going to be sharing a quick saucy dessert recipe with you soon. If you do a bring and share for Christmas dinner, this toffee pudding cake will be a lovely addition to the dessert table. The kids will love it, too. To add a little whimsical magic, I’ve topped the cake with snow cones and a shower of coconut. It’s dreamy, white and very Christmassy..
To WIN a Food Lover’s baking hamper worth R1700, tell us in the comment section below, what you’d make with their Luxury Fruit Cake Mix. I’ll be choosing a winner shortly. Good luck!
Sticky toffee pudding Christmas cake
Serves 12
- 125g ( 1/2 cup) packed dates, roughly chopped
- 3/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 60ml (1/4 cup) boiling water
- 210g (1 1/3 cup) Food Lover’s Luxury Festive Cake Mix
- 30ml (2 tbls) brandy or orange juice
- 200g (1 1/2 sticks plus 1 tbls) butter, room temperature
- 180g (3/4 cup) soft light brown sugar
- 30ml (2 tbls) treacle syrup
- 3 eggs
- 5ml (1 tsp) vanilla extract
- 160ml (2/3 cup) full cream milk
- 350g (2 1/3 cups) cake wheat flour
- 10ml (2 tsp) baking powder
- a good pinch of salt
Frosting
- 125g butter, at room temperature
- 250g full fat cream cheese
- 5ml (1 tsp) vanilla extract
- 225g (1 1/2 cups) icing sugar, sifted
Snow Trees
- 5 sugar cones (2 trimmed at the base to shorten)
- desiccated coconut and silver sugar balls, to coat
- Method
- Preheat the oven to 180º C. Grease and line 3 x 20cm round cake tins with baking paper.
- Place the dates in a heat proof bowl. Add the bicarbonate of soda and boiling water. Set aside for 10 minutes to soften, then blitz in a processor until smooth.
- Put the dried fruit in a bowl and cover with boiling water. After 5 minutes, drain off all the water and pour over the brandy.
- Cream the butter, sugar and treacle together until pale. Add the egg one at a time, beating well between each addition. Add the pureed dates, vanilla and milk. The mixture will look curdled at this stage, but comes together once the flour is added.
- Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together. Add to the egg mixture and mix slowly, just until the flour is incorporated, then fold through the brandy-soaked fruit. Divide the batter between the tins and bake for 25-30 minutes. Coo in the tins for 10 minutes before turning out.
- To make the frosting, whisk the butter until light and pale. Add the cream cheese and beat to combine. Add the sifted icing sugar and beat for about 3 minutes, until the frosting becomes pale and fluffy.
- To ice the cake, spread a thin layer of frosting between each layer. Cover the sides sparingly and the top, more generously. Smear a thin layer of frosting on each cone and roll in coconut or baubles. Arrange on top of the cake and shower the top with coconut.
For more inspired Christmas bakes, have a look in here
Gingerbread Bundt cake
No-bake Christmas fruit cake
27 Comments. Leave new
Anonymous
13 November 2018 12:34 pm
So so beautiful and pleasing to the eye Di.
Perfect for Christmas!Thank you
Dianne Bibby
13 November 2018 4:04 pm
Such a pleasure. I loved making this cake. Eating it wasn’t half bad either! The best pudding cake I’ve had in a while.
14 November 2018 5:59 am
I’d definitely make Christmas mince pies. Peter’s absolutely favorite!
14 November 2018 6:49 am
I would make carrot and pecan cake with frosting and marzipan wow this would be awesome Love to win December 2 birthday ♥️
14 November 2018 6:53 am
I would make carrot cake with pecan and frosting with Cherries on top and edible green silver leaves to make it Christmassy , Love to win December 2 birthday
14 November 2018 8:59 am
My husband would love for me to try making fruit mince. I’ve got to admit, I’m not a fan but his family have a famous mince pie recipe that I might need to revamp. I would need lots of tasters though because I won’t indulge. For people like me who don’t enjoy fruit mince, I would make a fruity Christmas ice cream cake. 😍
Zelda de Kock
14 November 2018 9:25 am
I made fruit slices, a luxury edition of an old time favourite, It is a fridge version of fruit cake with Tennis Biscuits instead of flour and freezes well. Perfect for having something special ready over the festive season..
14 November 2018 4:53 pm
Hmmm yummy! I love Christmas Cake.
Dianne Bibby
14 November 2018 7:36 pm
I think they’re possibly everyone’s favourite!
Dianne Bibby
14 November 2018 7:55 pm
Carrot and pecan is always a favourite. Best wishes for your birthday.
Dianne Bibby
14 November 2018 7:59 pm
Those secret family recipes are usually the best. A little bit of tweaking, though, is always a good idea.
I’ve often crumbled leftover Christmas cake into a good store-bought vanilla ice cream. A delicious cheat’s treat.Dianne Bibby
14 November 2018 8:04 pm
Those tennis biscuits sure know their way around South African kitchens! Your recipe sounds like the perfect stand-by for unexpected guests.
Dianne Bibby
14 November 2018 8:05 pm
Me too, Margherita. Happy baking.
Carol
16 November 2018 1:00 pm
Hi Dianne I use food lovers festive fruit mix to make my xmas cakes but I add glazed fruits dates glace ginger etc and not forgetting lots of brandy your cake looks divine
Dianne Bibby
16 November 2018 7:01 pm
Hi there Carol. I’m with you! Christmas cakes tend to be very thirsty. Nothing a good tot or two can’t sort out, though. If you have some fruit left over, this toffee pudding cake is a real treat.
Kathryn Cupido
17 November 2018 5:29 pm
I have never made a Xmas cake! But I am super lucky because my mom-in-law makes the most wonderful Xmas cake ever. My kids are older (& so is she!) this year, so they are making the cakes with her & they are pretty good at stirring. I don’t think she has ever only made one!
But wow the toffee pudding cake looks good 🙂Dianne Bibby
17 November 2018 6:07 pm
How lucky your children are to learn from someone who has a deft hand at baking. I don’t think there’s anything nicer than stirring then licking the bowl, especially at grandma’s house!
Cindy
16 December 2018 11:54 am
Hi when you say “wheat flour” would that be plain flour or self raising?
Dianne Bibby
18 December 2018 5:29 am
Hi there Cindy. In South Africa, plain flour is branded as cake wheat flour, mainly to make consumers aware that it contains wheat/gluten. So yes, it’s just plain flour.
Sara
20 December 2018 11:52 pm
Hi !
We dont have acces to the cake mix here in canada… csn you tell me what flavors are in this mix ? Is it a white cake, or does it have special flavors like cinnamon or other ?
Dianne Bibby
21 December 2018 5:18 am
Hi there Sarah. Lovely to hear all the way from Cananda! The cake has all the lovely spices of a Christmas pudding, so it’s a darker, caramel-like taste. For the cake mix, a combination of dried currants, sultanas, cranberries and raisins will be the perfect mix. I’d put slightly more raisins than the other 3 dried fruits. Hope that helps.
Bre
6 January 2019 1:37 am
Where does the cake mix go in the recipe?
Dianne Bibby
6 January 2019 5:40 am
Hi Bre. Thanks for spotting this! You fold the fruit in after the flour. I’ve amended the recipe accordingly.
Zirkie
3 December 2019 3:21 pm
I will definitely make stollen!
Celeste Brown
3 December 2019 7:09 pm
What a beautiful festive pudding cake!
I’ll make a fruity nutty Bread & Butter Pudding 😋Dianne Bibby
4 December 2019 7:13 am
Thank you Celeste. I love a creamy bread and butter pudding! With that crusty top and squidgy centre – unbeatable.
Wishing you and your family a beautiful festive season.Dianne Bibby
4 December 2019 7:15 am
I’m such a fan of stollen! Rather dangerous for me to have around the house. I could polish one without help.
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