Traditional Christmas Cake (Rich Fruit Cake)
This recipe is my mum's and it's a comforting constant in our Christmas celebrations. It's an incredibly tasty and reliable cake, and can be decorated traditionally or in a more contemporary fashion. Bake this in November to enjoy on Christmas Day. Feeding it weekly with sherry, rum or brandy becomes a countdown to Christmas in its own right. In my family, this cake isn't only enjoyed at Christmas: it has featured at several weddings, birthdays and other celebrations too, so really it's a year-round recipe.
In the picture above, I used bespoke cake toppers made by Cake Topper Animals, surrounded by my handcrafted edible flower paste leaves, berries, stars and snowflakes.
Makes one deep 8 inch round cake.
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
This recipe is my mum's and it's a comforting constant in our Christmas celebrations. It's an incredibly tasty and reliable cake, and can be decorated traditionally or in a more contemporary fashion. Bake this in November to enjoy on Christmas Day. Feeding it weekly with sherry, rum or brandy becomes a countdown to Christmas in its own right. In my family, this cake isn't only enjoyed at Christmas: it has featured at several weddings, birthdays and other celebrations too, so really it's a year-round recipe.
In the picture above, I used bespoke cake toppers made by Cake Topper Animals, surrounded by my handcrafted edible flower paste leaves, berries, stars and snowflakes.
Makes one deep 8 inch round cake.
Ingredients
- 600g currants
- 300g sultanas
- 300g raisins
- 65g ground almonds
- 65g citrus peel, chopped
- 130g glace cherries, chopped
- 300g Plain flour
- 1 tsp mixed spice
- 300g Butter/margarine, plus a little for greasing the tin
- 300g Soft brown sugar
- 2 lemons (rind and juice)
- 5 eggs, at room temperature and lightly beaten with a fork
- 3 tbsp sherry, rum or brandy, plus more to feed on a weekly basis (optional, but this will help it to keep longer)
Equipment
- Greaseproof paper
- Brown paper
- 8inch/20cm deep cake tin (make sure it's about 4 inches deep)
Method
- Line an 8inch/20cm cake tin. Do this by drawing around the base of the cake tin and cutting out two circles. Grease the tin thoroughly using soft or melted butter and put one of the circles at the base of the tin. Then, fold a long sheet of greaseproof paper lengthways, and then fold the non-folded edge 1 inch from the bottom. Make small 1cm vertical/slightly diagonal cuts (using scissors) along this non-folded edge (this will help it sit in the tin). The sheet should sit about an inch higher than the tin. Make another one if this sheet doesn’t extend around the whole circumference of the tin. Place inside the tin, and then place the second circle on top.
- Cut a double strip of brown paper, 1 inch higher than the tin, and place it around the tin using string.
- Wash the fruit (including the cherries and peel) in warm water, removing any stalks. Leave to dry in a thin layer across a clean tea towel overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (fan oven) or 200°C non fan.
- Sift the flour and the mixed spice, and mix together.
- Whisk the butter/marg and sugar together until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs gradually, whisking between additions, then add the fruit and peel followed by the flour, spice and lemon juice. Mix well and then fill the tin, using a blunted knife (or palette knife) to level it off.
- Place the tin on a baking tray, turn down the oven to 140°C fan or 160°C non fan, and bake for 1 hour at this temperature. Reduce the oven by another 10 degrees for the second hour, a further 10 degrees for the third hour, and another 10 degrees for the fourth hour. You may need to continue cooking it beyond the fourth hour if it’s not yet cooked in the middle. You may need to put some extra brown paper over the top if it’s browning. Press the top of the cake with your fingers – it will spring back when it’s ready and will have begun to shrink from the sides of the tin.
- Remove it from the oven and leave the cake to cool in the tin. When completely cool, pour the alcohol (if using) gradually over the top, waiting for it to soak in before adding more. Don’t remove the paper at this stage – this will help the cake stay moist.
- Wrap the cake in foil and store it in a cake tin (with a lid). Douse it in more alcohol once a week, carefully wrapping it up again afterwards. The cake can be enjoyed as it is, with a traditional decoration of marzipan and roll-out icing, or topped with dried fruits and nuts and brushed with a glaze of apricot jam.