I first saw this recipe in the Sunbeam Christmas Recipe book and just reading the ingredients had my mouth watering. Hubby prefers light Christmas cake, so I thought this would be right up his alley. I’ve tweaked the ingredients a bit from the original, but it certainly does not disappoint.

I also did some more testing with the Fresh Express and grated the chocolate up before I melted it. You can see from the picture below that it worked quite well. I also tried making almond meal, which did work, but it was a bit uneven, and I also grated an apple which worked fine. Here’s my first impressions of the Fresh Express.

White Chocolate Christmas Cake

180g butter, softened
60g 1⁄4 cup caster sugar
160g 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
150g white chocolate, melted and cooled
3 large eggs
500g mixed dried fruit (I used sultanas, raisins, apricots and glace cherries)
100g Macadamia nuts, chopped
3/4 cup self raising flour
1 cup plain flour
1/4 cup custard powder
1⁄3 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 150°C (300°F). Grease a 12 cup capacity bundt tin*.

Sift flours and custard powder into a large bowl. Stir to evenly combine.

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Gradually pour in the condensed milk and vanilla, beating until smooth. While still beating, gradually pour in cooled chocolate in a thin stream. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in mixed fruit and macadamia nuts.

Gently add the flour and buttermilk, alternating, in batches, until just combined. Spoon into prepared cake tin, smooth the top and bake for 1hr 45 – 2 hours (I cooked mine a little too long), until a skewer comes out clean.

Allow to cool before turning out.

*You can also use a 13cm x 27cm loaf tin, just double line the base and sides with baking paper.

Cake will keep well wrapped in an airtight container.