Recipe: Chocolate, date and nut cakes

You will need to start this recipe the day before you want to bake it.

Makes 20

• 250g unsalted butter, softened
• 1 ¼ cups (275g) firmly packed dark muscovado sugar*
• 5 eggs
• 11/2 cups (225g) plain flour
• 1/2 cup (75g) self-raising flour
• 1/4 cup (25g) Dutch cocoa

Fruit mixture

• 400g sultanas
• 300g pitted prunes, finely chopped
• 225g fresh dates, pitted, finely chopped
• 100g pecans, finely chopped
• 100g glacé orange peel, finely chopped
• 150g dark chocolate, finely chopped
• 200ml nut-flavoured liqueur**
• Finely grated rind of 1 orange

• For fruit mixture, combine all ingredients in a bowl. Cover and stand at room temperature overnight.
• Preheat oven to 150˚C. Grease 20, 1/2 cup-capacity dariole moulds then line bases with baking paper (see ‘Choose a cake size’).
• Using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until just combined. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until just combined. Sift flours and cocoa over cake mixture. Add fruit mixture and stir well to combine. Spoon batter into prepared moulds. Smooth tops then bake cakes for 45 minutes. Stand in moulds for 10 minutes before turning out on to a wire rack to cool. Once cool, wrap in plastic wrap and store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 months. Serve warm, with custard or ice-cream.

* Muscovado sugar is dark, rich and sticky with a delicious toffee flavour. It is available from delicatessens and David Jones Foodhalls. Substitute with dark brown sugar.

** Good nut liqueurs to try include Frangelico and Nocello.

Recipes: Sophia Young Photography: Andrew Lehmann