This quick and easy Christmas Cake recipe is a real family favourite. Simmering the fruits in a saucepan first produces a deliciously moist cake packed full of rich christmas flavours.
Ingredients
750 grams dried fruit
½ large orange zest
50 grams black treacle
250 grams dark muscovado sugar
175 grams unsalted butter
150 mls brandy extra if feeding it for a few weeks
200 grams chestnut puree
3 large eggs beaten
250 grams plain flour
1 tsps ground cinnamon
2 tsps ground mixed spice
1 tsp baking powder
Instructions
Weigh out all your ingredients. In a large saucepan put the dried fruit, butter, sugar, black treacle, orange zest, brandy, spices and chestnut puree. You might want to break the puree down a bit with a spoon before you put it in the saucepan to make it easier to disperse later.
Bring to a gentle bubble whilst stirring. Keep stirring until the whole lot is mixed well through and the chestnut puree has broken down. Let bubble for a few minutes.
Set aside to cool for 10 minutes. Pre heat your oven to 150° C/300 F/Gas Mark 2.
Whilst waiting for the mixture to cool line your 8″cake tin bottom and sides. Make sure that the side liner comes a little above the cake tin.
Tip
250 grams of plain flour, baking powder into the fruity mix and stir through then add the 3 eggs and stir again until mixed thoroughly. Pour and scrape the cake batter into your cake tin.
Bake in the oven for around 1 hr 35-45 mins or until a cake skewer comes out tacky but with no raw batter clinging to it. The top will be springy to the touch and cracked a little.
Allow to cool for 20 minutes or so before piercing the cake all over the top about 20 times with a cake skewer or similar. Spoon 2 tbsps brandy over the top of the cake.
Leave to cool in the tin. This will take about 3 hours.
Once cool wrap in a layer of baking paper and then silver foil and store in a container somewhere cool (not in the fridge). Once a week if you have time feed the top of the cake with 2 tbsps of brandy.
Notes
chestnut puree – if you don’t have any then use 300 grams of mincemeat instead and omit the black treacle and use only 350 grams dried fruit.
Choose the fruit that your family loves. Add glace cherries and candied peel etc.
Amplify the flavours that your family loves. You can add more or less orange zest or change the spice mix.
Measure out the ingredients before you begin.
Let the fruit mixture cool so you don’t scramble your eggs.
Use a loose bottomed or spring release baking tin.
Use an oven thermometer to keep an accurate track of your oven temperature independently. My oven is constantly higher in temp than the temp that I set with the dial.
Put a silver foil hat on the top of your cake if the top starts to catch before the cake is fully baked.
A little note to be mindful of the alcohol content of this cake. Some of the alcohol will have been cooke off but not all especially if you have been feeding it with extra brandy.
Nutrition
Calories: 496kcal | Carbohydrates: 83g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 84mg | Sodium: 35mg | Potassium: 678mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 53g | Vitamin A: 452IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 175mg | Iron: 3mg
All nutritional information is approximate and intended only as a guide.