Chef Mynhardt Joubert shares his festive fruitcake recipe with us ahead of his ‘Festive Tables‘ dining experiences.
Ingredients
250ml water
310ml soft brown sugar
1kg fruit cake mix (dried fruit and nuts)
250g chopped dates
250g golden sultanas
250g roughly chopped cashew and macadamia nuts
7ml MOIR’S baking soda
250g Président Salted Butter
100g whole red glacé cherries
100g whole green glacé cherries
5 eggs beaten
20ml MOIR’S vanilla extract
125ml KWV Brandy
625ml SASKO self-raising flour
5ml salt
5ml cinnamon powder
Method
Preheat oven to 120°C (250°F) and butter the inside of a high 25cm cake tin.
Line the tin with three layers of baking paper and re-butter the inside.
Slowly heat the first eight ingredients to boiling point and let it simmer for five minutes.
Remove the mixture from the heat and let it cool. Add the red and green cherries.
Combine the eggs, vanilla and brandy, and add it to the mixture.
Add the flour, cinnamon and salt, and mix well.
Spoon the mixture into the pan and bake for two hours.
Let the cake cool in the pan and turn it out. Sprinkle a bit of brandy over the cake and place it in an airtight container.
Regularly sprinkle over some more brandy to keep the cake moist.
Order a ready-baked cake
If baking your own feels like too much trouble, a limited amount of Chef Mynhardt’s festive fruitcakes are baked each year and are sold for R350 per cake. Secure yours by placing an order online or send an email to [email protected]
The cakes are being launched as a prelim to Chef Mynhardt’s popular Festive Tables and are baked in aid of non-profit Monte Christo Miqlat (MCM), situated in Paarl in the Western Cape, that empowers impoverished families through holistic sustainable development programmes.
‘The organisation we are supporting this year, MCM, is doing incredible work. Our goal is to annually reach new communities with new needs,’ says Chef Mynhardt.
He adds, ‘Our secret to a fruitcake with a difference? We bake with love, constantly keeping in mind the deserving people who will benefit from each and every cake sale. It’s an absolute highlight and the perfect opportunity to reflect on the year passed. A recipe only becomes something truly special when you pour your heart and soul into it.’
