Chocolate Orange Christmas Fruitcake and an early Christmas celebration

An anonymous writer once famously said, "Until one feels the spirit of Christmas, there is no Christmas. All else is outward display-so much tinsel and decorations. For it isn't the holly, it isn't the snow. It isn't the tree not the firelight's glow. It's the warmth that comes to the hearts of men when the Christmas spirit returns again."

I couldn't agree more and this is exactly  why we chose to celebrate Christmas yesterday, Saturday, the 21st.  Our weekend here in Muscat is Friday- Saturday,  so I chose Friday as the day for preparation, baking,  misc. other activities ( the Chocolate Orange Christmas Fruitcake cake tastes best if it is kept for at least 24 hours ) and Saturday for the tea party at home.

At the outset, I must confess that my recipe for the Chocolate Orange Christmas Fruitcake is not entirely original but a combination of a few recipes I'd seen in cookery books. A couple of months ago, I had tried out a recipe for a chocolate orange cake and my husband Avi had told me that it reminded him of a Christmas cake. So that really was the starting point for this cake and all I did was tweak that recipe a bit, added some rum, lots of fruit and there it was- my version of a Chocolate Orange Christmas Fruitcake which can easily keep in a closed box for two to three weeks.

All set for the Christmas Tea

• Our favourite corner at home
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• Ingredients

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• 700 grams  mixed dried fruit
• 175 grams unsalted butter
• 250 grams dark brown  sugar
• 500 ml dark rum
• juice and zest of 3 oranges
• Salt - a pinch
• 3 large eggs (beaten)
• 250 grams plain flour
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves

• Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 150°C/300°F. Grease and flour the sides and bottom of a deep 20cm / 8-inch round cake tin, ensuring that no space is left un coated. 
  2. Put  the dried fruit, butter, sugar, range juice and zests into a large wide saucepan and bring to the boil gently, stirring as the butter melts. Simmer the mixture for 10 minutes, then take it off the heat and leave to stand for 30 minutes. Now, add the beaten eggs, flour, baking powder and spices and stir to combine.
  3. Gently pour the fruit cake mixture  into the prepared cake tin.
  4. Place in the oven and bake for at least 1 hour. You will know if its ready when there is a beautiful citrusy, boozy aroma all over the house  and the top of the cake should be firm, dry and  have cracked somewhat. To ensure its cooked, insert a cake tester into the middle of the cake and it may  come out a little sticky.No problem - that really tells you that it is perfectly soft and moist from the inside 
  5. Put the cake on a cooling rack and leave it to cool for a couple of hours.Once it has cooled completely, un-mould it from the tin and wrap the cake well in a layer of grease proof paper till you want to decorate it.

Memories are made of moments like these

Decorating the cake

I confess to being lucky in the cake and pastry department. With a daughter who's a Pastry Chef, there are range of great handcrafted cake decorations that Neha has left behind at home and while I was looking into her cupboard,  I came across some beautifully made strawberries and leaves. Add to it some little decorative silver and pink edible balls, freshly grated orange zest and the cake was decorated in about 5 minutes. 

For your own take on decorations, use your imagination- you can use icing sugar, marzipan, chocolate  etc  but do it in the way that suits you the best.Always remember that half the fun lies in experimenting and that is exactly what will also set you apart from the rest.

Now that the Christmas cake has been tackled, its time to start thinking of something else. Cookies, mince pies, rum balls........my thinking cap is well and truly on.

In the meantime, here's wishing all of you a Merry Christsmas !  

Christmas comes to Paul Bakery, Muscat

The taste of Christmas 

Back home after almost a month, it was high time to take stock of how things are shaping up for Christmas in Muscat and a place that readily came to mind was Paul Bakery.For those of you who have followed my blog, you might have read my earlier posts on Paul Bakery  at the MGM Mall in Muscat, you already know that I absolutely love it, Chef Mohammed Kessrwani showed me how to make a great french milefoit and they bake glorious bread! 


It has also truly become the benchmark for what good food, service and a sense of 'joie de vivre' is really all about. From seating customers to bringing out the delightful and complimentary bread baskets along with the little bowls of unsalted butter and olive paste to taking the order and detailing what each dish is, the staff really do know how to meet and sometimes even exceed customer expectations!

My mid morning delight- A Paul Cappuccino

Meeting Andre, the friendly and efficient restaurant manager this morning  over coffee was  very interesting as he told  me about their  very special Christmas range.The bakery  is ready to hit the Festive Season with Raspberry and Pistachio Yule logs, Igloo cake (chocolate duo) or chocolate truffles, among many others. 

The Buche- incomparable!

Pictured above is the chocolate buche, a conoisseurs delight. According to Paul, the traditional shape and rich chocolate flavor make this bûche an ideal treat for any chocoholic. Even better, if it’s Christmas, how can there not be a touch of something snowy? Which is what is provided by the 'Igloo' a combination of dark and white chocolate mousse and delicious hazelnut croquant.

And this is what I came home with...

 Despite all that I looked at, I finally decided to go for my old  favourite at Paul, the assortment of macarons. You see, I actually have plans to make my very own Christmas cake and an assortment of other Christmas treats this year, so  do watch this space for more.