Last minute Christmas cake recipe
Posted by Fiona Nevile in Christmas, Desserts | 297 comments
Over the years we have tried various Christmas cake recipes but the best by far was the one that we made last year, a week before Christmas. We wanted a cake packed with fruit but not a dark heavy traditional type of Christmas cake. We’d had to force down too many slices of these in the past.
My Mother used to make us these and bring one each Christmas. Then she decided to buy them. These were worse and not disguised by being fed with lashings of brandy. We’d cut a few slices at Christmas, give her half the cake to take home at the end of her stay and the rest would linger in the larder for weeks and eventually been tossed out with the rubbish. We tried feeding one particularly disappointing one to the birds one year, and even they turned their beaks up at it.
“Make a Christmas cake if you want. But I won’t be eating it,” said Danny, settling in a large armchair to watch the rugby. Faced with this challenge I was determined to bake a cake that even D couldn’t resist.
I skimmed though all our books and found a recipe for a Christmas cake that sounded lighter than usual and tinkered with the ingredients. I replaced the darker ingredients, molasses, stout and muscavado sugar with lighter alternatives. We didn’t cut it until Boxing Day, when I spotted Danny sneaking into the kitchen for a second slice. Slightly paler than a traditional cake, it was packed with fruit, tasted wonderful and kept well. The last slice was tucked into my lunchbox at the end of January.
If you fancy trying a more traditional recipe, here are two links to sites with Christmas cake recipes that look good:
There is a Mary Berry recipe here http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/apricotandbrandychri_77766.shtml
Delia Smith has a range of recipes here http://www.deliaonline.com/search/?qx=christmas+cake
Last minute Christmas cake recipe:
Equipment:
8″ round cake tin (4″ deep), baking parchment.
Ingredients:
- 450g raisins
- 285g sultanas
- 110g currants
- 180g glacé cherries (halved)
- 110g ground almonds
- 225g unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 225g soft brown sugar (pale)
- 285g plain flour (sieved)
- zest of a lemon
- 5 eggs
- 2 tsp of mixed spice
- 2 tbsp of pale runny honey
- 200 ml of beer (I used Speckled Hen)
- 4 tbsp of Irish Whiskey/Whisky/ Brandy – when the baked cake has cooled
Method:
- Preheat oven to 160c (140 fan)
- Line the base and sides of the 8″ cake tin with a double thickness of baking parchment. Cut the paper an inch deeper than the tin so that it is sticking above the top rim.
- Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy (I use an electric mixer for this).
- Beat the eggs well and add them gradually to the mixture, a little at a time, beating them well. If the mixture curdles beat in a teaspoon of the flour before continuing.
- Using a tablespoon, gently fold in the flour, lemon zest and spices.
- Fold in the beer and honey and stir gently.
- Add the fruit and ground almonds and stir gently.
- Transfer the mixture to the cake tin and make a hollow in the centre of the mixture (roughly 2″ wide and 1″ deep).
- Bake in the centre of a preheated oven for about 2.5 hours depending on your oven, it may need a little longer. Check that it is cooked by inserting a skewer into the middle – this should be clean when removed. The centre should feel firm and springy if touched.
- Turn out onto a wire rack. When it is cold, make a few holes in the top and bottom of the cake (using a skewer) and feed the cake with the Irish whiskey (brandy would be fine as an alternative).
- Wrap the cake in baking parchment and store in a tin or cover with foil until you need it.
- If you would like to make your own marzipan – it’s very easy and so much better than bought. My recipe is here
Tips and tricks:
- If you are going to cover the cake with marzipan and ice it, put the marzipan on a few days before it is iced so the surface of the marzipan can dry. Otherwise the marzipan can bleed through and stain the icing.
- I sliced off the top of my cake before putting on the marzipan so the top would be flat. Or use the base as the top.
Leave a reply
Hi.
I used marzipan and iced cake with royal icing yesterday. I have not poured whiskey over cake once baked, as I loved the taste as it was. How long will I be able to keep this cake and what would be the best way to store it. I used your wonderful marzipan recipe and made royal icing using egg whites. Thanks again for this wonderful recipe and may u have a blessed Christmas!
Hi Diana
When I make this cake it is eaten within six weeks or so I’ve not had the chance to test out how much longer that it will keep. It’s not a traditional Christmas cake that will keep for months but it will keep for a few weeks. I wrap mine loosely in grease proof paper and store mine in an airtight tin in a dry place away from direct sunlight.
Happy Christmas!
Ok I made my first Christmas cake. To my horror the mixture curdled after the third little bit of egg went in, I put in a tsp of flour and continued to put in alternating eggs then flour until all the eggs were in. The mixture looked a little moist when I poured it in the cake tin and it would not hold the hollowed shape. It seemed to cook well, the skewer was clean after dipping in. It looked pretty good with its raised top and it mostly looked good when I cut it. Except it was ever so slightly doughy/not cooked in the very centre. I tasted lovely (everyone said so and they came back for more, which is pretty brilliant) It just looked a bit messy as the centre didn’t want to slice nicely. Could it be that I used a spreadable type of unsalted butter, instead of the traditional?
MANY THANKS, I THINK THAT I WILL FOLLOW YOUR ELAD AND BE GENEROUS!!
Sorry to be an idiot but I have never made ANY type of cake before. I have just followed your recipe really carefully and it is currently in the oven. Just one question HOW MUCH Irish Whiskey should I use? I have a 1ml syringe to inject it with but I have no idea how much to give it – please advise me!!
Hi Jenny,
You are not an idiot. The amount of whiskey is entirely up to you! I use a half to a full average wine glass of whiskey depending on how generous I feel.
I made this cake last year and it was really good. All my family loved it and my Mother in Law asked for the recipe.
Hi.
Its my first time to bake a christmas cake, never really enjoyed eating them before. Tried half the recipe and made it with Guiness Beer, turned out absolutely amazing. Sweet and divine. We have already eaten two thirds of it. Thank u for sharing this, its great.
I live in South Africa and bake for a living.
Best Xmas cakeive ever made so easy.
Hi Jackie
Great news. I love it too!
I’m going to take your good advice and be cautious. As this is my first attempt I shall stick to the recipe. I’ll get experimental in 2012 with next years batch!
Thank you
Wise move!
I’d be cautious about using mead, unless you have a very sweet tooth. I think it could turn out sickly. You’d have to radically cut down the sugar, but that might have other effects.
I feel the taste of amaretto would be overpowering too, but hey, if you like the flavour, why not try it? 🙂
Fiona and everyone who has contributed to this thread,
This year I’m going to do it. I’m going to bake my first Christmas cake and if it looks good I might bake a few for friends too. I’ll get the ingredients this week and I’ll be very choosey. But first, a few questions. What does the beer do? Can I change it for mead, as I like the sound of that. but it may be too sweet. Has anyone tried feeding with amaretto instead of brandy/whisky. And finally can you recommend where I might purchase cheap cake tins?
Very excited!
Hi Karen
This cake is delicious. But I reckon that it’s not a keeper.
The beer and whisky will give it a longer life span. It’s designed to be just what it says on the tin – a two month cake. Mead would work but it doesn’t have the umph of beer. Ameretto would also work but make the cake much sweeter. Cheap cake tins? Tesco did me proud.