Garden & Home TeamNo December holiday is complete without a cookie jar chock full of delicious homemade rusks. These Christmas-cake rusks make the perfect gift for a loved one this festive season.
Christmas-cake rusks
INGREDIENTS
- 300g salted butter
- 185g dark muscovado sugar
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 580ml buttermilk
- 60ml (¼ cup) spiced rum (optional)
- 500g cake flour
- 40g baking powder
- 2 tbsp mixed spice
- 2 tbsp ground cinnamon
- zest of 2 oranges
- 500g wholewheat flour
- 100g pecan nuts, roasted
- 100g almond flakes, roasted
- 290g fruit cake mix
- 100g mixed peel
- 120g marzipan, grated
- 100g dried cranberries
- 200g glacé cherries
INSTRUCTIONS
1
Preheat the oven to 180˚C. Grease and line a 40 x 30cm rectangular baking tin with baking paper. Set aside until needed.
2
Melt the butter and sugar in a large saucepan over low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
3
Once cool, whisk in the eggs, buttermilk, and rum. Set aside.
4
Sift the cake flour, baking powder and spices together in a large bowl. Add the orange zest, wholewheat flour, toasted nuts, fruit cake mix, mixed peel, grated marzipan, cranberries and cherries. Mix until well combined.
5
Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and add the buttermilk mixture. Stir until just combined.
6
Transfer the dough to the prepared baking tin and bake in the preheated oven until golden brown and a skewer inserted into the centre of the slab comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool in the tin.
7
Remove the slab from the tin and, using a serrated bread knife, cut the slab into 2,5cm-wide strips and then cut each strip into 8cm-long pieces. Arrange the rusks on baking trays and place them in the oven. Keeping the oven door ajar, set the temperature to 80˚C and leave the rusks to dry out for about 6 hours or overnight.
8
Store for 2 – 3 months in an airtight container at room temperature.
Recipe, styling, and photograph by Katelyn Allegra
