The 5-minute Christmas cake is a rich and aromatic dessert perfect for the upcoming holidays. The recipe is really simple, you only need two bowls, a spoon, and a few minutes to obtain a soft and fluffy batter rich in candied fruits, raisins, and chocolate. A quick alternative you can prepare for the holidays is the yeast-free panettone cake, a real treat.
Simple and delicious, the Christmas cake is beautiful to bring to the table and perfect for those who are not fond of yeasted cakes, have little time, and want to prepare something new but quick. The base is the classic 5-minute cake enriched with ingredients that remind you of Christmas, and if you prefer, you can replace the oil with butter.
Don’t like some ingredients? You can easily substitute them with what you prefer. The flavors, candied fruits, raisins, and chocolate can be replaced with other ingredients to your liking. Remember, though, that raisins and candied orange peel add moisture to the batter, so I highly recommend them.
Here are more Christmas desserts for you:
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Portions: 8
- Cooking methods: Electric oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Christmas
- Energy 367.32 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 67.01 (g) of which sugars 43.67 (g)
- Proteins 5.13 (g)
- Fat 10.62 (g) of which saturated 2.45 (g)of which unsaturated 6.68 (g)
- Fibers 4.04 (g)
- Sodium 25.14 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 100 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups flour
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2/3 cup whole milk
- 1/3 cup peanut oil (or 7 tbsp melted butter, cooled)
- 2 eggs (medium)
- 1 packet baking powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp orange zest (grated)
- 1 tsp lemon zest (grated)
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1/3 cup candied orange peel
- 1/3 cup dark chocolate chips
- 1 cup vanilla powdered sugar
- 1 1/2 tbsp orange juice
- as needed glitter sugars (raspberry or other decoration as desired)
- as needed candied orange
- as needed meringues (small or other decoration as desired)
Tools
- 2 Bowls
- 2 Small Bowls
- 1 Bundt Pan 9.5-inch diameter
Procedure
WHY IS IT CALLED A 5-MINUTE CAKE? The name comes from a very quick traditional Bolognese dessert, where eggs were beaten and other ingredients were added, making it extremely simple; it certainly doesn’t just take 5 minutes to prepare it but, along with the 7-jar cake, it is one of the fastest there is. The name comes precisely from its very simple preparation.
Rinse the raisins and place them in a small bowl covered with warm water (if you like, add two tablespoons of rum) for 30 minutes. Drain the water, squeeze the raisins very well, and pat them dry with paper towels.
Cut the candied fruits into small cubes, about 1/5 inch.
Grate the orange and lemon zest onto a small plate.
In a bowl, mix the baking powder with the flour and set aside.
In the other bowl, pour the sugar, add the eggs, and mix well with a fork, then add the milk, oil, vanilla, and citrus zest (you can substitute the flavors with those you prefer) incorporating everything with a whisk.
Gradually pour the liquid ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients, mixing with the whisk to obtain a homogeneous batter.
Add the chocolate chips, raisins, and candied orange, mix for a few seconds.
Butter and flour a bundt pan (a cake pan works too, but I find the bundt shape more appealing to serve).
Pour the batter into the baking pan and bake in a preheated static oven at 350°F for about 30/35 minutes. Check the doneness with a toothpick, if necessary, continue for a few more minutes.
If the cake surface tends to darken too much, cover it with a sheet of aluminum foil.
The 5-minute Christmas cake is ready, before flipping it onto a plate, let it cool for 10 minutes.
While the cake bakes, prepare the glaze. In a small bowl, pour the powdered sugar and orange juice, mix well. The glaze is ready.
If you want a more liquid glaze, add a tablespoon of orange juice; if you want it thicker, add a tablespoon of powdered sugar.
For decoration, I used what I had at home; you decorate it as you like. You can use fresh fruit dipped in granulated sugar, candied fruit, or Christmas sugar decorations (the ones you buy at the supermarket), in short, have fun decorating it however you like best.
After 10 minutes, flip the cake onto a plate, glaze it with orange glaze, and distribute your preferred decorations on top. I used raspberry sugar decorations, small meringues, and candied orange zest.
Let the cake cool and serve.
Tips
The 5-minute Christmas cake keeps for three to four days at room temperature under a glass dome.
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