Mini Chocolate Fruit Cakes

Asked by sweetiejo. Answered on 13th August 2015

Full question

I was thinking of making the Chocolate Fruit Cake from Nigella Christmas in time for Xmas as part of a gift hamper, but I was wondering if I could do it in cupcake form using gold foil cases. Can I bake and freeze a few days in advance? Also I was going to do the Gorgeously Golden Fruit Cake in the same way. Any tips on length of cooking, oven temperature and storing would be helpful. Many thanks and looking forward to new show! Joanne.

Our answer

Nigella's Chocolate Fruit Cake (from Christmas and on the Nigella website) and Gorgeously Golden Fruit Cake (also from Christmas and on the Nigella website) are both alternatives to a traditional rich fruit cake, except that they do not need to "mature" in the same way as a rich fruit cake and also will not keep quite as long. Unfortunately we have not made either of these in cupcake form, however Nigella has made her Easy-Action Fruit Cake (from Feast and on the Nigella website) as smaller Jewelled Cupcakes (in Feast).

You could try using the baking instructions for these Jewelled Cupcakes as a guideline, though we cannot guarantee the results with the other cake mixtures. You do need to use foil cases as the mixture is damper than a regular cake or muffin batter. The foil cases tend to be smaller than standard muffin cases so we suspect you should get 18-24 cupcakes from the cake mixtures. Bake the cupcakes at 170c/325F for 35-40 minutes. They may seem slightly damp in the centre still but will continue to cook as they cool so let them cool completely in the cupcake pans. The cupcakes should freeze for up to 3 months, if frozen in airtight containers. Thaw the cakes on a wire rack at room temperature for about 2 hours before icing them.