Christmas Cake

Christmas to me is all about comfort food, hot beverages, a cozy fireplace and crazy, loud affectionate family gatherings. This year I decided to bake a different non tradicional treat for Christmas eve dinner at my parents', inspired on my cooking muse Nigella Lawson [because you know I always love to change the recipes a bit to give them my personal touch], that impersonated the spirit  of the holidays -solid and consistent on the outside, chewy and moist on the inside and that impregnated the whole house with the most amazing scents of warm,spice,homemade and love!

Ingredients:

• a box of soft dried prunes
• 100 gr of softened unsalted butter
• 175 ml hooney
• 125 ml Frangelico
• 1 tea spoon anise
• 1 orange [juice and zest]
• 100gr dark brown sugar
• 150 gr white sugar
• 250gr flour
• 1 tea spoon yeast
• 2 tea spoons baking soda
• 150 gr powder chocolate
• 1/2 cup of milk
• 200 gr ground almonds
• 6 eggs
• sour cream and a bar of white chocolate [for the cover]
•  

Chop the prunes roughly. Add the Frangelico, the butter, the anise, the dark brown sugar. Squeeze the orange juice and add its zest as well as the honey. Take the mix to medium heat and stir frequently, for about 20 minutes. Add the powder chocolate - your kitchen should smell divinely by now! In a bowl mix the flour, the gound almonds, the yeast, the white sugar and the soda bicarbonate and mix all the ingredients with a wooden spoon. Add the mix to the one that is still cooking and the dough will thicken imediately. Stir for about 3 to 5 minutes and put it into a mould, lined with parchment paper. Take it to a pre heated oven to 180º and then let it cook for about 1h at 150º. It will be ready when you stick ta knife in the center of the cake and it comes out clean. On top I added a cover of a white chocolate with a packet of sour cream and white chocolate sprinkles.