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Pan de Pascua
Spiced Christmas fruit cake
Chile's spiced Christmas cake with walnuts and candied fruit
From late November every Santiago bakery and supermarket stacks loaves of pan de Pascua, and families exchange them like Christmas cards. Despite the name ('Christmas bread') it is a cake: dense, dark and spiced with cinnamon, ginger and clove, crowded with raisins, candied fruit and walnuts, and often moistened with honey and manjar (dulce de leche). It goes with a glass of cola de mono, the Chilean Christmas drink of coffee and milk. The fruit is usually soaked in rum or pisco; here it soaks in orange juice, and the spirit is an option. Fruit that sinks into a sticky layer at the bottom is the usual complaint, so toss it in a spoonful of the flour first. Chef's tip: wrap the loaves in baking paper and keep them for 3–4 days before cutting; the spices mellow and the crumb gets moister.
- Total time
- 110 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 16
Ingredients
For the fruit
- 5 ½ oz raisins
- 5 ½ oz candied mixed fruitchopped
- 4 oz walnutsroughly chopped
- ¼ cup orange juice
- ¼ cup pisco or dark rum (optional)optional, in place of the orange juice
For the cake
- 5 ½ oz buttersoftened, plus a little for the tins
- 5 ½ oz soft brown sugar
- 3 ½ oz dulce de leche (manjar)
- 2 tbsp honey
- 3 eggs
- 10 ½ oz plain flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 orangefinely grated zest
- ¼ cup milk
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What you'll need
Spices & pantry
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Method
0/9 doneStep 1: Put 5 ½ oz raisins and 5 ½ oz candied mixed fruit in a bowl with ¼ cup orange juice (or ¼ cup pisco or dark rum). Leave to soak for 20 minutes, stirring once.
20 minStep 2: Heat the oven to 350°F (300°F fan). Butter two 900 g loaf tins and line them with baking paper.
Step 3: Beat 5 ½ oz butter and 5 ½ oz soft brown sugar for 3 minutes, until light, then beat in 3 ½ oz dulce de leche (manjar) and 2 tbsp honey.
3 minStep 4: Beat in 3 eggs one at a time.
Step 5: Whisk 10 ½ oz plain flour with 2 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, ½ tsp ground ginger, ¼ tsp ground cloves and ½ tsp ground nutmeg. Drain the fruit (add any liquid to the milk), add 4 oz walnuts, and toss with 2 tbsp of the flour mixture so everything is coated.
Step 7: Divide between the tins and level the tops.
Step 8: Bake for 55–65 minutes, until dark golden and firm, and a skewer pushed into the centre comes out clean. Cover with foil after 40 minutes if the tops are browning fast.
60 minStep 9: Cool in the tins for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a rack. Once cold, wrap well; it keeps for 2 weeks.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 300 kcal
- Protein
- 5 g
- Carbs
- 42 g
- Fat
- 13 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does pan de Pascua take?
- About 110 minutes in total: 45 minutes to prepare and 65 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 16 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of walnuts?
- Pecans or chocolate chips, same amount.
- What can I use instead of orange juice?
- Mandarin or pineapple juice, same amount.
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