Educator Jennette Moodie popped up on our radar last March when we heard raves through the grapevine about her scrumptious cho cho cake creation. Our interest led to a trip into the kitchen of Moodie's St Catherine home, her recipes subsequently ended up between the pages of the Jamaica Observer's Easter Cookbook earlier this year.

Checking in with Moodie , a work experience coordinator at Spanish Town High, we were pleased to discover she had concocted a new recipe for the festive season. We were even happier to learn that her self-titled "nutty Christmas fruit cake" is a foodie must-have for the holidays with orders pouring in from all over. "I have orders from churches, police stations, and even Digicel's corporate offices," she shared with Thursday Food when we caught up — again in her kitchen — the countertops stacked with rows of varying sizes of her packaged cakes.

So what is it that makes her nutty cake a hit?

Moodie believes it's a combination of things, starting with the nutty taste and fruit mix, but also because "it's moist, not too rummy and not too sweet, it's tasty and healthy enough that diabetics can enjoy it." Moodie's cakes are available in one, two and three-pound sizes for $1,000; $2,000 and $3,000 respectively. Ring her up at 384-1573 for more information.

Janette Moodie's Nutty Christmas Fruit Cake

Ingredients

1 lb flour (1/2 lb baking flour and 1/2 lb All Purpose Flour)

1 lb margarine or butter

1 large pack Sunshine Snacks Sun Mix mixed fruits

1 large pack Sunshien Snacks Peanuts Mani

1/2 lb sugar

8 eggs

1 lb raisins

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon mixed spice

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 ounces mixed peel

1 1/2 lb cherries

1/2 pound prunes (chopped)

1 cup wine/brandy

1/2 cup wine

4 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons vanilla

Finely grated rind of one lime/lemon

1/2 bottle browning

4 oz bread crumbs

1 teaspoon grated nutmeg

2 shredded cho chos

Method

Cream butter, sugar and browning until soft and fluffy.

Sieve all dried ingredients.

Add eggs one at a time to creamed mixture.

Add fruits to creamed mixture.

Fold in flour and other dried ingredients.

Add all other ingredients.

Do not over-beat when mixing

Bake at 350F for 1 1/2 hours.

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