Our
Christmas Cake recipe is illustrated with step by step pictures to ease you gently
through the process. At key stages we give you hints and
tips which make it as easy as pie!
KEY POINTS
Preparation Time:
Cooking Time:
How Difficult
Medium
Freeze?
Yes (see comment 16/01/2012)
Servings
25cm (10 in) cake
CHRISTMAS CAKE This Christmas Cake Recipe page deals with making and baking
the Christmas Cake. When you are ready to marzipan and ice your Christmas Cake click
on one of the following pages:
TIME 45 minutes preparation time
3 hours cooking time but be extra sure to check (see below) after 2
hours as some ovens vary considerably.
INGREDIENTS
The ingredients below will make enough to fill a 20 to 25 cm (8 to 10 inch) cake tin.
Note, Mixed Spice is missing from the picture.
Ingredients
Imperial
Metric
Butter or margarine at room temperature (1 hour or
so out of the fridge)
8 oz
230 g
5 medium eggs
-
-
Mixed Fruit (e.g. currants, raisins, sultanas, peel)
1½ lb
680 g
Glace cherries - roughly chopped
2 oz
60 g
Mixed spice
½ teaspoon
½ teaspoon
Ground almonds
2 oz
60 g
Demerara sugar
8 oz
230 g
Almonds - roughly chopped
2 oz
60 g
Self-raising flour
12 oz
340 g
Brandy or rum
4 fl oz
110 ml
Milk - if needed to adjust consistency of mixture
2 fl oz
55 ml
NOTE: You will need more brandy to add to the cake as it matures. Allow
for another 4 fl oz / 110 ml.
COOKING EQUIPMENT
1 cake tin - 20 to 25cm diameter
Food blender or a a lot of manual stirring!
A large bowl
Grease proof paper
OVEN TEMPERATURE
170° C, 325°F, Gas Mark 3
METHOD
Grease the inside of the cake tin with butter,
margarine or oil. Cover the inside of the cake tin with greaseproof
paper as shown in the picture on the left.
It's important to get
the paper sat neatly in the cake tin.
Click here for
our page on how to do this the professional and easy way! With step
by step pictures of course.
Place the sugar and butter in your food blender and
mix them well - this will take around a minute at medium to high
speed.
The texture after blending will be thick and creamy. Start
the blender going again and add the eggs. Keeping the blender going
at medium to high speed will stop the eggs curdling.
The process of blending in the eggs will incorporate
a lot of air into the cake mixture (click picture to enlarge it and
see more clearly the air bubbles).
It's the air in the cake mixture which will keep the cake
'light'. Turn the oven on now so that it is pre-heated to the right
temperature.
Remove the mixture from the blender and gently spoon it into a wide
bowl Add the flour, ground almonds and mixed spice into the bowl and
gently mix them in. The object here is to mix all the ingredients
well but not to 'knock' the air out of the mixture. Do this by using
a spoon and gently stir in a figure of 8. It will take about 30
seconds to mix up all the ingredients.
Add the mixed fruit, glace cherries, chopped almonds
and brandy. Gently mix the ingredients together using a spoon as
described in the previous paragraph.
The consistency of the mix
should be such that the mixture will drop off a spoon with some
reluctance (click picture to see more clearly). If the mixture is
too thick, add some of the milk and mix gently again.
Gently spoon the mixture into the cake tin lined with greaseproof
paper. Level out the mixture using the spoon.
Make a small well in
the centre of the mixture. This will prevent the cake form rising
too excessively in the centre when it is baking. Click picture to
see more clearly.
Put the cake tin in the middle shelf of your oven and bake for 3 hours (pre-heated oven 170°C, 325°F, Gas Mark 3), 20 minutes less for
fan assisted ovens. Check after two hours.
Turn the cake round in the oven once or twice during baking to
ensure that it evenly cooks. When the cake is cooked (see next para
for judging this), the top will probably be slightly cracked. This
matters not one jot because we will turn the cake over to ice it!
Check if the Christmas Cake is cooked properly by
inserting a skewer or thin knife into the cake. If it's reasonably
clean when you take it out, the cake is cooked. If there are bits
stuck to the skewer / knife it needs cooking a bit more.
The example
on the left was from a cake that needed about 20 minutes more
cooking.
Ovens differ in how fast they cook so check your cake after 2 hours
and then every 20 minutes to see if it is cooked.
View of base of cake
Let the cake cool for a couple of hours then prepare
it for storage. Cover with greaseproof paper then either wrap it in
foil or store it in an airtight container.
Ideally, the cake should be matured for a month or more before
icing it. If storing the cake for more than two weeks, add a small
amount of brandy to the cake every two weeks.
The best way to add brandy is to turn the cake upside down, prick it
with a fork in several places then sprinkle a couple of tablespoons of
brandy over the base of the cake. Rewrap the cake as before, base
downwards.
Easy to make....fab to eat! Took advice about lower temperatures and mixing
fruit with flour before adding...ensured that there was an even distribution through the cake,
no dropping to the bottom. The only thing I changed was using golden caster sugar instead of
Demerara, made the cake lighter. I've been using this recipe since I first found it and it has never
let me down!
22 September 2010
From: Laura
Nice easy Christmas Cake recipe, made it already in
preparation for Christmas, can't wait to try it!
24 September 2010
From: Bill Monds
For cooking small sized Christmas cake(s) simply reduce
oven temp to 275F.Actually I would suggest 275F for the full size cake
also. Rich fruit Christmas cakes cook better (prefer) the lower temp and
longer cooking time. Happy Baking. Bill.
25 September 2010
From: Anita Carvill
Used this cake in 2009 and it was brilliant, other half
loved it. Using it again this year with some slight alterations to the
fruit and nut mixture as my mum prefers brazil nuts so a handful have
gone it. Thank you :o)
Not Given
14 October 2010
From: Jeanette Wills
If you mix half the flour into the fruit this will
prevent the fruit from sinking.
16 October 2010
From: Q Rego
Wonderful recipe, tried it before and turned out great,
getting ready to make more this year! Thank you for the step by step
guide.
16 October 2010
From: Marian Hoblyn
Thank you so much. have been looking for an easier
recipe than my mum's for years. very impressed.
31 October 2010
From: Denni
Hemsworth
First year used this recipe left out the almonds and
made the cake 1 with brandy 1 with Rum and 1 with Disaronno always
soaked the fruit in liquid first for 24hrs. Brilliant, all the family
have been around as the cakes were baking all expecting invitation for
Xmas for a piece of the xmas cake all mine and the wife and I have been
chef for 30 years. One of the best recipes I have found for years so
simple.
31 October 2010
From: Ranju
ITS REALLY NICE RECIPE TRIED IT AND CAME OUT REALLY AS
IT WAS IN THE RECIPE GONNA MAKE IT THIS YEAR FOR CHRISTMAS.
11 November 2010
From: Dee
Made this Christmas cake last year in a square tin and
cut in half to make 2, one for the m/law. Will be making it again this
year but soaking the fruit first over night using sherry instead. Cant
wait for the out come.
13 November 2010
From: Not Known
Sounds like a great Christmas cake and an easy to follow
recipe...I'm going to have a bash at making this on Monday. Thanks for
the recipe :)
15 November 2010
From: Adrian
I made this recipe, on Saturday - 13/11/10 - and it was
a perfect result.
It was the first time I had made a Christmas cake. My family decided
that it should be "a test" cake - just in case there were any
"complications", but it was absolutely excellent!
I did think that it could have used a little more mixed spice, but I
suppose that that is to one's own taste.
I'll be making another cake, next week, ready for the 'big day'.
Many thanks! Very helpful.
20 November 2010
From: Rebecca
Its the first time I have ever baked a Christmas cake
and I am so chuffed. Can't wait to try it. I feel all christmassy and
the house smells wonderful. Now I need to plan the decoration of it!
21 November 2010
From: Shirley
Made it this morning and it turned out brill. Thanks for
the advice about the quantity.
21 November 2010
From: Not Given
Very nice and I hope everyone else thinks so!
26 November 2010
From: Des Holmes
I FOUND THIS RECIPE WITH THE PICTURES VERY HELPFUL, AS
THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I HAVE EVER DONE ONE, AND THE SMELL WAS
JUST FANTASTIC, THANKS AGAIN, YUM YUM .
26 November 2010
From: Jenny
Fantastic Christmas Cake recipe, made this today and was
so easy. Can't wait to eat it at xmas x.
27 November 2010
From: Terence
Great recipe thanks ;-)
Not Given
1 December 2010
From: Terry
Great recipe made it in preparation for Christmas. Wife
had a slice before i could wrap it made another successful one. Like
Adrian she had to test it.
2 December 2010
From: Heather
Making my 3rd batch today. Taster cake already eaten and
my son took one home. Really simple recipe. Cooks much quicker in a fan
assisted oven would recommend that the temperature reduced if using fan
assisted.
22 December 2010
From: Geetha
Thank you so much for the recipe. It worked like wonders
for us.
23 December 2010
From: Subramanian.s
I SAW A LOT OF CHRISTMAS CAKE RECIPE FROM VARIOUS SITES
BUT THESE ONE REALLY NICE THANKS A LOT FOR IT.
04 January 2011
From: Paula
This was my first ever attempt at Christmas Cake. It was
easy, quick and yummy!! didn't take 3 1/2 hours though, nearer 2 3/4 so
keep an eye on it!
10 August 2011
From: Paula
This was my first ever attempt at Christmas Cake. It was
easy, quick and yummy!! didn't take 3 1/2 hours though, nearer 2 3/4 so
keep an eye on it!
9 October 2011
From: Rothman
Made one practise cake and it was yummy, will be using
this recipe for my daughter's wedding cake and will saving a lot of
money.
27 October 2011
From: Michelle
I have just made this Christmas cake and it is now in the oven cooking away. It was really easy to make, thank you.
29 October 2011
From: Kez
The is the best Christmas cake I have ever made. It took 3 1/2 hours at 150c in a fan assisted oven. I also added 3 tablespoons of treacle! Can't wait to eat it. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
13 November 2011
From: Jodie
I used this recipe last year for my daughters christening and everyone loved it and it was the first time I have ever made a xmas cake and have had orders for my
granddad's birthday and a few people want me too make it for xmas for them as well. Thank you soooo much.
Not Given
17 November 2011
From: Anne
I used this recipe last year for my daughters christening and everyone loved it and it was the first time I have ever made a xmas cake and have had orders for my
granddad's birthday and a few people want me too make it for xmas for them as well. Thank you soooo much.
21 November 2011
From: aj Sunderland
Only took 2+ hrs to cook, it tasted wonderful, going to make another one but with black treacle added this time. Will let you all know how it turns out
29 November 2011
From: Ruthie
This is great and so easy to make!! I added lots more nuts, cherries and brandy!! I also used the main mix and divided it into 6 small cake tins so I can send these as mini Xmas cake gifts!! Fantastic!!
02 December 2011
From: Al
A wonderful cake, but I made two and a sampler out of my mixture. Now I'm feeding the two with loads of brandy!
Not Given
02 December 2011
From: Susanneinfrance
What temperature should the interior of a fruit cake reach to be cooked, but not overcooked! I make smaller size cakes and it's difficult to judge. Answer: I'm not sure that checking the interior
temperature of a cake would work. I would cook at 275°F
(lower than a larger cake) and check after 90 minutes and then every 20
minutes after that until the skewer check (see main article) is OK.
16 January 2012
From: Rosemary
I have frozen the top tier of a wedding cake for 3 years
and it was still fine. Made Jan 2008 and used for christening feb 2011-
still perfect
05 October 2012
From: Parky
Use this recipe every year thanks guys !! It never lets me down and it is one of the best
Christmas cakes i have ever made !!! Thank you so much !!!! I have had a few orders for this cake off
friends this year lol
10 November 2012
From: Mandymoo
I made this cake last year and it was very popular with all the family , so have made it again this year . I would say it doesn't need the full recommended cooking time.
11 November 2012
From: Zappy
I've used this recipe for the last 2 years and going to use it again this year. Looking forward to the lovely aroma coming from my kitchen this afternoon.
12 November 2012
From: Carron
Thanks brilliant step by step guide even for someone like me who can NEVER follow
recipes I always add and change something. It's cooking now and smells divine. The cold mixture taste brilliant. Thanks x
15 November 2012
From: Vanessa
Thanks for the recipe it was easy to follow and cant wait to tuck into it at
Christmas if anyone doing a fruit cake for the first time this is the one to follow. xx
25 November 2012
From: Terry
Cooking now, the aroma is fantastic, can't wait to get tucked in..hurry up xmas ..easy recipe to cook.
