Certosino

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A great Italian-inspired recipe for a cake suitable for eating at Christmas. Full of flavour surprises.

Inspired by the recipe published in the Manchester Guardian by Nigella Lawson.

Special equipment: 25 cm springform cake tin

Ingredients

75 g

Traidcraft FAIRTRADE sultanas

30 ml

Marsala

350 g

plain flour

2 tsp

bicarbonate of soda

150 ml

FAIRTRADE runny honey

150 g

Traidcraft FAIRTRADE caster sugar

40 g

unsalted butter

3 tbsp

water

1 tbsp

fennel seed

1 tsp

FAIRTRADE ground cinnamon

375 g

Cox's apples, roughly grated

200 g

flaked almonds

50 g

pine nuts (optional)

100 g

FAIRTRADE Darkly Divine chocolate

75 g

Traidcraft FAIRTRADE walnuts

Decoration:

(suggestions)

4 tbsp

FAIRTRADE Swazi kitchen jam

some

Traidcraft FAIRTRADE beanies

some

Traidcraft FAIRTRADE fruit jellies

some

Traidcraft FAIRTRADE nuts (various)

Method

Preparation

Soak the raisins in the Marsala for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to gas mark 4 (180 °C; 350 °F).

Line the cake tin with non-stick baking parchment.

Baking

Measure the flour and bicarbonate of soda out into a large bowl.

Heat the honey, sugar, butter and water in a saucepan until the sugar dissolves.

Add the fennel and cinnamon and pour this mixture over the bowl of flour and bicarbonate of soda. Stir to combine.

Mix in the other ingredients, including the soaked raisins and their liquid. Place in the tin.

Bake in the oven at gas mark 4 (180 °C; 350 °F) for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Decoration

When the cake has cooled, heat the apricot jam in a small pan. Paint most but not all of it over the top of the cake to give a sticky surface to which the fruits and so forth will adhere.

Decorate with the sweets and nuts so that the cake is entirely concealed. Brush the top with the remaining glaze to give a shiny finish.