Easy Christmas Cake Recipe - A moist, traditional fruit cake

An epicurean adventure to: The United Kingdom

Welcome to the heart of the holiday season with this rich, moist and velvety Christmas cake recipe.

No frills, no fuss and definitely no marzipan icing. We prefer our Christmas cake in its unadorned glory, allowing the festive flavours to shine in their purest form. But fear not, for there are plenty of trendy ways to make this plain cake dazzle without the need for marzipan and royal icing.

Besides, 'naked' cakes are all the rage these days!

Making a Christmas cake is simpler than a stroll in the snow. It's largely as straightforward as your basic cake recipe, with just one catch; you'll want to kick things off three days in advance by soaking the fruit in brandy, whisky or rum.

After all, what's a traditional Christmas cake without a hint of boozy warmth to ignite that holiday spirit?

We're here to provide you with straightforward, step-by-step guidance, complete with helpful photos. From lining the tin to feeding the cake, we've got every detail covered.

Here's to a deliciously homemade festive season!

Fast facts - United Kingdom

Location	The United Kingdom (UK) is located in North-western Europe, comprising four countries: England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
Capital	London.
Language	In addition to English and Welsh, the United Kingdom is home to a rich linguistic diversity with twelve other indigenous languages used including Gaelic, Cornish, Manx, Scots and three sign languages. English stands as the most widely spoken language, while Cornish is among the least commonly used.
Population	Circa 66.8 million people.
Trivia	In 2017, British scientists achieved a remarkable feat by making the world's tiniest Christmas card. This extraordinary creation, measuring a staggering 200 million times smaller than a standard postage stamp, features an endearing snowman and festive greetings. However, due to its minuscule proportions, it eludes the naked eye and you will need specialist equipment to see it.

A brief history of Christmas cake

In its early days in England, the precursor to the Christmas cake was plum porridge, originally meant to provide sustenance after a long day of religious fasting.

Gradually, other fruits and honey joined the plums, evolving into the Christmas pudding. By the 16th century, richer ingredients like flour and eggs replaced oats, transforming the pudding into a fruitcake resembling today's version - thank goodness!

The incorporation of spices from the East symbolised the three wise men and wealthier families even adorned their cakes with marzipan, resembling the modern Christmas cake we enjoy today.

Key ingredient notes and substitutions

**Please see the recipe card at the bottom of this post for the full list of ingredients.

Dried fruit

In this recipe, we use a mix of currants, raisins, glacé cherries and sultanas.

However, you have flexibility in your choice of dried fruits, as long as their combined weight equals 1,375g.

For example, if you're not fond of currants, you can substitute them with more sultanas or raisins and vice versa.

Additionally, you can explore other options such as mixed peel and dried fruits like apricots, dates or prunes to customise your cake to your liking.

Blanched almonds

What are they? It's simply almonds with the skins removed. Blanched almonds tend to have a milder and slightly sweeter flavour since the bitter skins have been removed.

You can also use other nuts of your choice, like walnuts and pecan nuts.

Eggs

You will need four large eggs at room temperature, each weighing about 62g with the shell on. Eggs a few grams over or under will still work fine.

Using room-temperature eggs is an important detail for making any cake. When eggs are at room temperature, they blend into the batter more smoothly and uniformly.

To warm fridge-cold eggs quickly, place them in a bowl of warm water for about 5 minutes.

Dark brown sugar

You can swap out dark brown sugar with muscovado sugar in this recipe. However, we wouldn't advise using light brown sugar and white sugar is definitely not recommended.

Butter

Feel free to use either salted or unsalted butter.

It's essential to use very soft butter for the cake to ensure it blends easily with the other ingredients.

The alcohol

Our preferred choice for soaking the fruit and feeding the Christmas fruit cake is brandy, the cheapest one we can find! We keep a bottle of the most budget-friendly, unassuming brandy solely for the annual Christmas cake tradition - in the baking cupboard!

If you prefer a different flavour, you can also use whisky or rum. However, it's important to note that using rum, with its distinct and robust flavour, can substantially alter the overall taste of the cake.

How to line a round cake tin for a Christmas cake

You will need three pieces of baking paper (parchment paper) for the tin:

1. The inside liner

2. The inside bottom liner

3. The outside liner

Lightly grease the bottom and sides of the cake tin and set aside.

1. The inside liner

You will need two measurements of your cake tin.

1. The outside circumference of the cake tin, plus a bit extra for overlap. For instance, if you use a 20cm/8" cake tin, you will need a length of about 75cm/30". For a 23cm/9" cake tin, you will need 85cm/33".

2. The second measurement is of the height of your tin plus 5cm/2" extra. For instance, if your cake tin is 10cm/4" high, the width of the paper will be 15cm/6".

In summary, for a 20cm/8" round, 10cm/4" deep cake tin, cut a strip of paper that's 75cm/30" long and 15cm/6" wide. Or 85cm/33" long for a 23cm/9" cake tin.

Fold the length of the paper over on one side, about 2.5cm/1" wide. Cut slits into the short end of the fold, roughly 2.5cm/1" apart.

Place the strip of paper into the tin with the slits perpendicular to the bottom of the tin, slightly overlapping each other.

2. The inside bottom liner

Place the tin on top of the baking paper, trace a circle around the outside of the tin and cut it out.

Place the paper circle into the bottom of the tin and press it down securely.

3. The outside liner

Cut another long strip of paper, the same length as the inside liner, but this time double the width. For a 20cm/8" round, 10cm/4" deep cake tin, cut a strip of paper that's 75cm/30" long and 30cm/12" wide. Or 85cm/33" long for a 23cm/9" cake tin.

Fold the strip of paper in half lengthwise. This will give you a double lining of paper to wrap around the outside of the tin.

Carefully wrap the double layer of paper around the outside of the tin and secure it with a piece of string. You may need another set of hands to help you!

Your tin is now ready for the cake.

How to make Christmas cake: Step-by-step

3 Days in advance

1. Combine the glacé cherries, raisins, currants, sultanas and orange zest in a large bowl. Pour in the brandy and stir well.

2. Stir the dried fruit mixture daily.

Making the cake

1. Preheat the oven to 140C/284F/gas mark 1.

2. In a large mixing bowl, add the soft butter, dark brown sugar, eggs and black treacle. Beat until well combined.
   
   You can use either an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer for this step.

3. Add the plain flour and mixed spice. Beat again, just until fully incorporated.

4. Fold in the chopped almonds.

5. Add the soaked dried fruit along with any remaining brandy from the bowl. Fold into the batter with a large spoon until evenly distributed.

6. Using a large spoon, fold in the fruit until you have an equal spread of fruit throughout the cake batter.

7. Spoon the thick batter into the cake tin in layers, making sure to spread each layer all the way to the sides because the batter is quite thick. It won't spread by itself.

8. Level the cake's top with the back of a spoon as best you can.

9. Bake the cake in the preheated oven for 2 hours.

10. If the colour is to your liking (golden brown) after the first 2 hours, loosely cover the cake's top with a piece of foil.

11. Continue baking for an additional 2 - 2¼ hours or until the cake feels firm to the touch and a cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean.

12. Measure out roughly two tablespoons of brandy.

13. Right after taking the cake out of the oven, evenly spoon the brandy over the hot cake.

14. Allow the cake to cool on a wire rack before taking it out of the tin and removing the paper.

Storing the cake

• After the cake has completely cooled down, wrap it in two layers of cling film followed by a layer of foil. Please be aware that the centre of the cake may take several hours to cool completely.

• For added freshness, you can store the cake inside an airtight container.

Feeding the cake

• Begin your second feeding one week after baking. To do this, use a cake tester to pierce the top of the cake a few times to create feeding holes for the alcohol.

• 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.

How long in advance can, or should, you make the cake?

You can prepare your Christmas cake up to three months ahead of the big day.

However, it's best not to leave it for less than one month before Christmas. This time allows for several rounds of alcohol feeding and gives the cake the chance to mature, which is what distinguishes a Christmas cake from the rest.

In our experience, the longer you allow the cake to mature in advance, the richer and more flavourful it becomes when you finally enjoy it.

Can you make Christmas cake without alcohol?

Absolutely, you can prepare a Christmas cake without alcohol.

For soaking the fruit, consider using alternatives like apple juice, orange juice or any juice of your choice.

When it comes to feeding the cake, replace the alcohol with your preferred juice. Keep in mind that fruit juice lacks the preservative properties of alcohol, so it's advisable not to make a non-alcoholic cake more than one month in advance of enjoying it.

Variations

• Experiment with different dried fruits such as apricots, dates, figs or prunes to create a unique blend that suits your taste.

• Skip the blanched almonds and add a different variety of nuts like pecans, walnuts or pistachios.

• Customise the warm spices mix by adding a pinch of cardamom, cloves or nutmeg.

• Experiment with different types of spirits such as rum, whisky or even amaretto.

• Incorporate lemon zest alongside the orange zest.

Serving suggestions

We believe the best way to serve this cake is plain with a cup of tea or coffee on Christmas morning, but here are some more ideas if you're after something different:

• Pair a slice of Christmas cake with a mild, creamy cheese like Brie or Cheddar.

• Serve with fresh fruits like berries, tart cranberries or figs. Remember, even though fresh cranberries will look pretty on the plate, it's not to everyone's liking.

• Serve slightly warmed up with a helping of homemade custard, cream cheese frosting or mascarpone cream.

• For a festive dessert platter, cut the cake into smaller squares or cubes and serve it as bite-sized treats along with chocolate cake, creamy cheesecake and mince pies for non-fruit cake lovers.

Storage

Fruitcake with alcohol has remarkable longevity and can last for several years and in rare instances, even decades. But, we're not promoting this!

For ultimate freshness, enjoy a fruit cake with alcohol for up to three months. Keep the container in a cool, dark place with a stable temperature to ensure the cake's longevity.

For longer storage, freeze the cake for up to a year, tightly wrapped in plastic wrap and then stored in an airtight container.

Ideas to decorate an un-iced Christmas cake

• Arrange almonds and glacé cherries carefully on the cake batter in your preferred pattern before baking. On the day before serving (Christmas Eve), brush the top with a glaze made from gently warmed apricot jam for a lovely sheen.

• Place sugared rosemary sprigs around the edge of the cake in a wreath pattern (see the featured photo at the top of the page). Scatter pomegranate seeds on top of the 'wreath' for colour.

• Stick rosemary sprigs of various lengths into the top of the cake, so the leaves are pointing downwards to create mini Christmas trees.

• Bake a batch of snowflake or star cookies, decorate and place the cookies on top of the cake.

• Bake a batch of mini gingerbread houses to stick to the side of the cake with small dabs of icing.

• Arrange an assortment of small Christmas baubles stacked into a decorative pile. Remove before slicing.

• Simply tie a beautiful velvet ribbon around the cake.

• Create an inviting centrepiece by stacking a collection of small pinecones, interspersed with sugared rosemary for a touch of elegance.

• Decorate with sugared cherries or cranberries. Follow the same process as for the sugared rosemary.

• Make stars or snowflakes out of royal icing and place them on top of the cake.

• Decorate with dried orange slices. Dried blood orange slices look particularly attractive and festive on the dark cake.

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