Dessert

Traditional Christmas cake

Look no further for the perfect festive treat! This traditional Christmas cake recipe is packed with classic goodies like glacé cherries, brandy and sultanas
12
5H

This recipe first appeared in Food magazine.

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Ingredients

Method

1.Place the raisins, sultanas, currants, glacé cherries, candied peel, dried apricots and figs in a large bowl. Add the brandy and stir gently. Cover and leave for 12 hours.
2.Preheat the oven to 130ºC. Line the base of a deep, 20cm square cake tin with several layers of baking paper. Line the sides with baking paper. Place a layer of brown paper or newspaper around the outside of the tin and tie with string.
3.Sift the flour and mixed spice together. Place the butter and brown sugar in large bowl. Beat until the mixture is light and fluffy. Beat the eggs in a separate bowl. Add the eggs to the creamed butter and sugar about a tablespoon at a time until all the egg is incorporated.
4.Fold in the sifted flour and mixed spice. Add the fruit mixture, almonds, molasses, orange and lemon zest. Fold in gently.
5.Transfer the mixture to the prepared tin and spread it evenly with the back of a spoon.
6.Arrange the blanched almonds on the top of the mixture. Bake the cake on the lowest shelf in the oven for 4½-5 hours. Cool on a cake rack for 30 minutes then remove the cake from the tin and place it on a wire rack to finish cooling.
  • When the cake is cold, “feed” it with brandy. Make small holes in the top of the cake with a toothpick and spoon over a few teaspoons of brandy. To store, wrap the cake in foil then place it in an airtight container. – If desired, this cake can be iced with almond icing rather than decorating the top with blanched almonds.
Note

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