Easy Christmas Cake recipe
User Reviews
5
Easy Christmas Cake recipe
Description
The recipe starts by soaking a generous quantity of dried fruits—including currants, sultanas (or raisins), cherries, apricots, and citrus peel—in brandy overnight to develop deep flavor and moisture. The next day, a batter is made by creaming soft butter with dark brown sugar, then incorporating room-temperature eggs, followed by dry ingredients like plain flour, mixed spice, grated nutmeg, and zest of two oranges. Black treacle adds color and depth.
Baked in a well-lined 23cm round cake tin at 140°C (284°F) for an extended period ensures a slow, even rise and moist result. This cake is traditionally made weeks before serving to mature its flavor fully. It's often fed periodically with additional brandy or juice to keep it moist and flavorful leading up to the holidays.
The dense, rich texture packed with fruit and spice makes this cake a classic centerpiece dessert in many festive traditions, commonly decorated with chopped almonds and glace cherries.
Preparation includes careful layering during tin filling to avoid air pockets, and reminders to use very soft butter and room temperature eggs optimize the cake’s texture.
Ingredients
- 300 grams currants
- 500 grams sultanas or raisins
- 250 grams glace cherries plus extra for decoration, halved
- 200 grams dried apricot roughly chopped
- 100 grams mixed peel citrus peel
- 5 tablespoons brandy plus extra for feeding the cake
- 400 grams butter salted or unsalted, very soft
- 400 grams dark brown sugar or muscovado sugar
- 5 egg at room temperature, large
- 225 grams plain flour
- 1 teaspoon mixed spice
- ½ nutmeg grated
- 70 grams almond plus extra for decoration, chopped
- 1 tablespoon black treacle
- 2 orange zest only
Instructions
1 day in advance
- 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.
- Stir the dried fruit mixture once or twice during the soaking time.
Prepare the baking tin
- Lightly grease a 23cm/9" round cake tin with a minimum depth of 10cm.
- 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
- Preheat the oven to 140C/284F/gas mark 1.
- 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.
- Add the room-temperature eggs and beat until just combined. The mixture may look curdled, but this is fine.
- Next, add the plain flour, mixed spice, ground nutmeg, chopped almonds, black treacle and orange zest. Beat again, just until fully incorporated.
- Add the soaked dried fruit and any remaining brandy from the bowl. Fold into the batter with a large spoon until evenly distributed.
- Spoon the thick batter into the cake tin a little at a time, spreading each portion evenly before adding the next.
- Smooth the top of the cake with the back of a spoon to level it out as much as possible.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Once the cake has slightly cooled, pierce it all over with a skewer, spacing the holes about 3cm apart.
- Measure out roughly two tablespoons of brandy. Spoon the brandy evenly over the cake. This will be the first 'feed'.
- 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
- Begin your second 'feeding' one week after baking.
- 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.
- If you prefer the cake with less of a boozy kick, feed it every two weeks instead.
Notes
- Ensure butter is very soft (not melted) for smooth mixing with sugar.
- Use room temperature eggs for an even batter consistency.
- Fill the cake tin in layers, spreading evenly to avoid gaps since the batter is thick.
- Make the cake at least one month ahead to allow flavors to mature.
- Feed the cake weekly or fortnightly with brandy or juice to keep it moist and rich before serving.
Nutrition Information
Show DetailsNutrition Facts
Serving: 16servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories 576 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 576kcal | 29% |
| Carbohydrates | 98g | 33% |
| Protein | 7g | 14% |
| Fat | 18g | 28% |
| Saturated Fat | 9g | 45% |
| Polyunsaturated Fat | 2g | 12% |
| Monounsaturated Fat | 6g | 30% |
| Trans Fat | 1g | 50% |
| Cholesterol | 75mg | 25% |
| Sodium | 138mg | 6% |
| Potassium | 599mg | 13% |
| Fiber | 5g | 20% |
| Sugar | 54g | 108% |
| Vitamin A | 471IU | 9% |
| Vitamin C | 5mg | 6% |
| Calcium | 85mg | 9% |
| Iron | 3mg | 17% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5
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