Christmas Special Dessert: World of Warcraft - Graccu’s Mince Meat Fruitcake

I’ve never set foot in Pandaria, been on a forty man raid at two o’clock in the morning to Darkwing Lair or suffered the ‘Wrath of the Lich King’… but I do like cake! I’m not ashamed to admit I’ve not yet earned my WoW badge, like I’ve also not earned my Minecraft one and in all seriousness it’s because I know I’d befall the trap and vanish into oblivion. To be honest, I’m saving my online RPG virginity for Diablo III which I am eagerly awaiting (for the love of God, Blizzard, I only have so much patience). Anyway, what better way too round off a Christmas feast than with a traditional fantasy fruitcake!

This recipes serves 8-10.

What you will need: A 25cm Bundt cake mould, 2 mixing bowls and a sieve.

For the Mince Meat Fruitcake:

250g / 1¾ Cups Self-Raising Flour

150g / ¾  Cup Butter (Room Temperature)

100g / ½ Cup Golden Caster Sugar

50g / ¼ Cup Dark Muscovado Sugar

75g / ½ Cup Mixed Dried Fruits

2 Eggs

450g / 1lb Jar of Mincemeat

75g / ½ Cup Flaked Almonds

120ml / ½ Cup Whisky (Optional)

To Garnish:

Icing/Confectioners Sugar

6 Glacé Cherries (Halved)

Making Graccu’s Mince Meat Fruitcake:

1. Sieve the self-raising flour twice into a large mixing bowl to aerate it properly, then set aside.
2. Grease the bundt tray well with a little butter and preheat the oven to 160C/325F.
3. In a separate bowl cream the butter and the sugar until well combined, try to break up the Muscovado sugar as much as possible.
4. Next add the dried fruits and almonds, stir well, then add the jar of mincemeat and mix again.
5. Beat the two eggs together and gradually add them to the mixture, stirring in as you add. If you’re adding the whisky, do so now and mix well.
6. Pour the wet ingredients into the flour and fold them together gently then pour the mix into the prepared bundt tray. Pop in the oven and cook for approximately 80-100 minutes – if it’s cooked an inserted skewer/knife will come out clean.
7. Once cooked remove from the oven and allow to cool completely in the bundt mould.
8. You can, if you wish, ‘feed’ the cake some more whisky by pouring small amounts over the cake every few hours . If you’re impatient (like me) simply remove once it’s cooled enough.
9. Sieve over a sprinkling of icing/confectioners sugar and arrange the glacé cherries around the top of the cake. Ideally, serve with some brandy cream.

This cake is “Preserved with Graccu’s special spices! It’ll be a very long time before these turn bad…”; I ate this entire cake in a day. I regret nothing. My Irish roots ensure I’m very particular when it comes to fruit cakes, I like them and I love that winter gives me the excuse to tuck into various incarnations starting with a Hallowe’en Barmbrack and finishing, very often, with a third helping of Christmas pudding. I’ll never again buy a Christmas cake now that I know how easy and cheap this is to make. Apparently you “must remain seated while eating” which is ideal should you choose to eat this while questing or watching “It’s a Wonderful Life” for the thousandth time.

Like this? You might also enjoy the Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - S’Jirra’s Famous Potato Bread.