Скачать или смотреть Festive Christmas Fruit Sponge Cake: Easy Recipe for the Holidays!

This cake is a hybrid of sponge cake and traditional black/fruit cake- it is a sponge cake with soaked fruit puree and spices added to it.
Get more easy baking recipes here:    • How to Make Pineapple Walnut Cake  

Moist, light and fruity, this cake is perfect for the holidays. I used orange juice to soak the fruits instead of traditional alcohol, and I also boiled the fruit mixture to help it breakdown.
If you don’t have time to soak fruits and don’t like traditional black, heavy, fruit cakes- then this recipe is for you! So give it a try and happy baking 😊
If you're looking for a plain sponge cake check out this recipe here:    • Bake the BEST Sponge Cake: Easy, Moist and...  

Ingredients for soaked fruits (no alcohol)
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup dried raisins
½ dried and chopped pitted dates
1 cup orange juice
¼ cardamom
½ tsp cinnamon

Directions
1. Mix all ingredients and soak overnight in the fridge or for 6-8 hours.
2. Add the mixture to a pot and cook down until most of the orange juice evaporates.
3. Allow the mixture to cool slightly, then transfer to a food processor and blend into a puree. Allow the puree to come to room temperature before using in cake. Store extra in the fridge or freezer.

Tip- if after blending you think the mixture is too dry or thick- just add a bit more juice to loosen it up. I also recommend preparing the fruit puree at least a day before making the cake.

Cake ingredients
1 cup soft butter (equivalent to 8oz. or 2 sticks)
1 cup white sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups sifted flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 tsp orange zest
1 cup soaked fruit puree
1/3 cup chopped cranberries and raisins

Cake Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease an 8-inch round baking pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. You can also just grease and flour the pan.
2. Beat butter for a few minutes and then add sugar and orange zest. Cream butter and sugar until very light and fluffy for about 6-8 minutes on medium speed, scraping the bowl with a spatula regularly.
3. Add eggs one at and time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla extract and continue beating the mixture on high speed for 1-2 minutes until the batter is very aerated.
4. Add 1 cup of the pureed soaked fruit mixture to the batter and mix to combine. The mixture may look curdled at this point- but do not worry.
5. Combine sifted flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.
6. Add to 1/3 cup of dried cranberries and raisins to the batter and gradually add in the flour. Gently incorporate and do not over mix.
7. Bake for about 50-60 minutes or until the cake is brown on top and an inserted cake tester comes out clean. Let the cake cool in pan for 10 minutes before removing. Store in an airtight container.

Tips
1. This cake recipe can easily be doubled to make 2 8 or 9-inch round cakes.
2. Use room temperature ingredients to ensure that they all mix well together.
3. Cream the butter and sugar for at least 6 minutes. This will ensure that lots of air is incorporated into the butter yielding a light and fluffy cake.
4. Do not over mix the batter after adding the flour. This will deflate the batter and over develop the gluten in the flour making the cake dry and hard.
5. Store this cake at room temperature or in the fridge in a sealed container. I like to warm my cake in the microwave for 10-15 seconds before enjoying when stored in the fridge. Trust me- this makes a huge difference to the texture and taste of the cake compared to a cold slice of cake.

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