Dark, sticky Christmas cake with prunes and Guinness

This delicious cake, which comes from my book An Appetite for Ale, is based on a recipe from one of Britain's best bakers Dan Lepard. Do use organic dried fruit in it - you’ll get a much better result.

250g currants
150g mi-cuit (semi-soft) prunes, preferably from Agen, cut into small pieces
200g organic dried apricots, cut into small pieces
125g large raisins
Grated rind of 1 unwaxed orange
150ml Guinness or similar stout
200g unsalted butter
1 tbsp mixed spice
150ml treacle
200g dark muscovado sugar
2 large eggs
300g spelt or wholemeal flour
1 tsp baking powder

You will also need a deep, loose-bottomed cake tin about 20cm in diameter, double-lined with baking parchment.

Preheat the oven to 170°C/325°F/Gas 3

Combine the dried fruit and orange rind in a bowl. Pour the stout into a saucepan heat gently until hot (but not boiling) and pour over the fruit. Heat the butter in a saucepan over a gentle heat and skim off the milky curds that rise to the surface. Simmer until it begins to deepen in colour then stir in the spice and treacle. Add to the fruit along with the sugar and stir well. Cool the mixture then add the lightly beaten eggs, bit by bit. Sift the flour with the baking powder and add to the mixture. Spoon the mixture into the lined tin, pressing it down well and smoothing over the surface. Bake in the pre-heated oven for an hour, covering the top of the cake with foil if it starts to brown too quickly then turn the heat down to 140°C/275°F/Gas 2 for a further 1 1/2 - 2 hours until a skewer inserted in the cake comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and cool in the tin. Peel off the the baking parchment and cover with fresh parchment then wrap tightly in foil. You can eat it after a week but it will keep for up to a month.

This cake would taste great with a barley wine or a sweet sherry.

Can Can chicken

Continuing with our series of South African Braai recipes to celebrate the World Cup, here’s winemaker Paul Cluver’s version of beer-can chicken made with apple juice rather than beer.

This is a fantastic way of cooking chicken for any of you who haven’t tried it. You need a barbecue with a domed lid like a Weber.

Serves 4–6 (You can double up the recipe for two chickens)

One large free-range chicken, giblets removed

For the marinade
100g butter
125ml red wine vinegar
100ml olive oil
Handful of Italian flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
3–5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 red onion, finely chopped
Freshly ground salt and black pepper
1 can Appletise (or any unsweetened sparkling apple juice or good cider)

Melt the butter, then add all the other ingredients except for the Appletise. Marinate the chicken in a large bowl – leave it for at least an hour. This will also give you time to prepare the barbecue. You need to place the charcoal on the sides and make sure you have a drip tray in the middle. Open the can of Appletise, pour off half the contents, put the chicken over it and place it in the middle of the barbecue. It takes about an hour to cook.

You can obviously cook this on a gas barbecue too FB

Wine note: Paul recommends the Paul Cluver Pinot Noir with the chicken but you could also drink a Chardonnay - or, obviously, apple juice or cider if you don’t want to drink wine.

This recipe comes from Cape Wine Braai Masters published by Wines of South Africa