Easy Christmas Cake recipe

1 day in advance

1. The day before, combine the currents, sultanas, halved glacé cherries, chopped apricots and mixed peel in a large bowl. Pour in the brandy and stir well. Leave overnight.
2. Stir the dried fruit mixture once or twice during the soaking time.

Prepare the baking tin

1. Lightly grease a 23cm/9" round cake tin with a minimum depth of 10cm.
2. Fully line the inside of the tin with baking paper, then wrap a double layer of baking paper around the outside and secure it with string.Check out the blog post for photos on how to line a round cake tin for your Christmas cake.

Making the cake

1. Preheat the oven to 140C/284F/gas mark 1.
2. In a very large mixing bowl, add the soft butter and dark brown sugar. Beat until well combined. You can use either an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer for this step.
3. Add the room-temperature eggs and beat until just combined. The mixture may look curdled, but this is fine.
4. Next, add the plain flour, mixed spice, ground nutmeg, chopped almonds, black treacle and orange zest. Beat again, just until fully incorporated.
5. Add the soaked dried fruit and any remaining brandy from the bowl. Fold into the batter with a large spoon until evenly distributed.
6. Spoon the thick batter into the cake tin a little at a time, spreading each portion evenly before adding the next.
7. Smooth the top of the cake with the back of a spoon to level it out as much as possible.
8. If you'd like, you can now decorate the cake with extra cherries and almonds, pressing them halfway into the batter to secure them in place.
9. Lightly cover the top of the cake with a double layer of baking paper. Make sure the paper doesn’t touch the batter, or it might stick and ruin the top of your cake when you remove it later.
10. Bake in the preheated oven for 4¼ hours or until the cake is firm and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Allow it to cool in the tin.
11. Once the cake has slightly cooled, pierce it all over with a skewer, spacing the holes about 3cm apart.
12. Measure out roughly two tablespoons of brandy. Spoon the brandy evenly over the cake. This will be the first 'feed'.
13. After the cake has fully cooled, remove it from the tin and keep the lining paper on. Wrap it in two extra layers of greaseproof paper, followed by a layer of foil. Store in a cool, dry place for up to three months. For added freshness, you can store the cake inside an airtight container.

Feeding the cake

1. Begin your second 'feeding' one week after baking.
2. Feed the cake with 1-2 tablespoons of alcohol every week until it's time to enjoy it. Make sure to re-wrap it securely after each feeding.
3. If you prefer the cake with less of a boozy kick, feed it every two weeks instead.