Blogmas Day 19 | Recipe: Christmas Cake

I started making my Christmas Cake about a month ago because it was when I got chance and they last for so long it doesn't matter.

I thought I'd share with you a recipe that my Mum has used to make our Christmas Cake every year. It was originally a Delia Smith (a cooking queen) recipe and we haven't changed anything. It's tried and tested and is absolutely lovely so why change a recipe for success?

This recipe is for a heavy, dense, fruit cake, that serves 8 to 10 people.
The preparation time is 30 minutes, plus an overnight soaking, and the cooking time is 5 hours.

If you would like to make something that looks a bit like this, carry on reading for the full recipe:

You will need:

For the Cake:
450g currants
175g sultanas
175g raisins
50g glace cherries (rinsed, dried and finely chopped)
50g mixed peel (finely chopped)
250ml (approx.) sherry alcohol
225g plain flour
1/2 tsp salt
225g unsalted butter
225g soft brown sugar
4 large eggs
1 dessertspoon black treacle
zest 1 lemon
zest 1 orange

To Decorate:
500g Natural Almond Marzipan
500g White Fondant Icing
Decorations (i.e. ribbons) of your choice


What to do:

Begin this cake 24 hours before you wish to bake it...

1) Add the dried fruit and mixed peel to a large mixing bowl and stir in the sherry as thoroughly as possible.

2) Cover the bowl with a clean cloth and leave the bowl to one side to absorb the alcohol for 24 hours.

Next day...

3) Preheat the oven to gas mark 1 / 275f / 140c.

4) Sift the flour, salt and spices into a large mixing bowl (raise the flour high to give it an airing)

5) In a separate large mixing bowl, whisk the butter and sugar together until it is light, pale and fluffy

6) Now, beat the eggs in a seperate bowl and then add them to the creamed sugar/butter mixture 1 tablespoon at a time; keep the whisk running until the egg is fully incorporated. (If the eggs are added like this they shouldn't curdle, but if they do, don't worry, all problems will be solved at a later date)

 

7) When all the egg is added fold in the flour and spices. Don't beat the mixture as this will remove any air.

 

 

8) Now fold in the fruit, peel, treacle and grated orange and lemon zests.

 

Now grease an 8in/20cm round cake tin and line with greaseproof paper. (Because the baking time is a long one - tie a band of brown paper round the outside of the tin for extra protection)

9) Transfer the cake mixture to the cake tin and level out with the back of a spoon

 

10) Cover the cake with a double square of greaseproof paper with a 50p size whole in the top (it looks really messy but this is again for extra protection during the long slow cooking time)

11) Bake the cake on the lowest shelf of the oven for 4 1/2 - 4 3/4 hours. It may take up to 1/2 hour longer than this but do not check the cake, or even open the oven till 4 hours have passed.

Cool the cake for 30 minutes in the tin, then remove it and place it on a wire rack

 


If you wish you can leave it looking like this or you can ice it in a traditional Christmas Cake style.

To decorate:

1) Roll out the marzipan. Place the marzipan across the cake evenly. (Don't worry if it breaks no one will see this bit you can patch it up with any excess you have)

2) Roll out the icing and place evenly over the cake - be careful not to break this! Push the icing to the bottom of the cake and cut it off around the base of the cake.

3)Decorate the cake with anything you would like such as ribbons or specific cake decorations. You can get these from craft and cookery stores.

And that is it.....your cake may look a little bit like this, or it may not depending on how you've decided to decorate it.

 

 

Hope you've enjoyed reading this recipe! Merry Christmas!

 

See you tomorrow for more blogmas....

 

Love, Hannah x