Mini Christmas cakes

I love this idea of mini Christmas cakes for everybody! Don’t forget to let everybody have a stir of the mixture so that they can make a wish for the coming year…

Recipe source: adapted from a recipe by Kookaburra on food.com
Makes: 32

What to do:

The night before:

• Place mixed fruit into a very large bowl. Add vanilla extract or rum and mix well. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to stand overnight.

Start of lesson:

• Preheat oven to 150°C and arrange oven racks to accommodate muffin tins in the centre section of the oven.
• Place a muffin case into each hole of the muffin tins. Peel and grate the apple. Place the butter in the small saucepan and gently heat until melted. Remove from the heat to cool. Break the eggs into a medium bowl and lightly beat.
• One ingredient at a time, add the beaten eggs, grated apple, treacle and sugar to the fruit mixture, mixing well with a wooden spoon after each addition.
• Sift the flours into a big bowl, then add the cooled, melted butter and flours to the mixture and mix thoroughly – make sure to let every member of the group have a stir of the mixture while they make a Christmas wish!
• Spoon the mixture into the muffin cases, filling to almost full. Use the back of a spoon to smooth the top of each cake.
• Press a glace cherry into the centre of each cake and, if you like, around each cherry press in 5 almonds to make ‘petals’- pointy end closest to the cherry.
• Bake at 150°C for about 40-45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of a cake comes out clean. Cool then store in airtight tins or the refrigerator. Or eat!

Notes: They can be eaten immediately or wrapped tightly in cling film, still in their paper. They will keep for a month at least, long after the festivities (and ham) have finished!