Christmas Fruit Cake

Name: Christmas Fruit Cake
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 240 min
Total time: 280 min
Yield: 16 servings
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 300 g raisins; 250 g sultanas; 150 g currants; 100 g dried sour cherries or cranberries; 75 g mixed candied peel, chopped; 150 ml brandy, for soaking; 1 orange, zest and juice; 1 lemon, zest only; 250 g butter, softened; 250 g soft dark brown sugar; 4 eggs; 250 g plain flour; 50 g ground almonds; 2 tsp mixed spice; 1 tsp ground cinnamon; 1 tbsp black treacle; 50 g blanched almonds, for the top; 4 tbsp brandy, for feeding

🍳 CookingБГ

Prep40 min

Cook240 min

Total280 min

The British Christmas cake — a dark, moist cake packed with brandy-soaked dried fruit and spice, baked low and slow weeks ahead and fed with more brandy as it matures. Eat it plain or cover it with marzipan and icing.

Ingredients

Serves:16

300 g raisins
250 g sultanas
150 g currants
100 g dried sour cherries or cranberries
75 g mixed candied peel, chopped
150 ml brandy, for soaking
1 orange, zest and juice
1 lemon, zest only
250 g butter, softened
250 g soft dark brown sugar
4 eggs
250 g plain flour
50 g ground almonds
2 tsp mixed spice
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp black treacle
50 g blanched almonds, for the top
4 tbsp brandy, for feeding

Nutrition (estimated)

medium confidence

365kcal · per serving

6.2g

Protein

49g

Carbs

17.6g

Fat

Recipe total: 5832 kcal · P 99.1g · C 783.9g · F 281.4g

Estimated from 18 of 18 ingredients

Approximate estimate, calculated from the ingredients.

Steps

1
The night before, put the raisins, sultanas, currants, cherries, peel, 150 ml brandy, orange zest and juice and lemon zest in a bowl, stir, cover and leave to soak overnight.
2
Heat the oven to 140°C (120°C fan). Line the base and sides of a deep 20 cm round cake tin with a double layer of baking paper standing 5 cm above the rim.
3
Beat the butter and sugar until fluffy, then beat in the eggs one at a time, adding a spoonful of the flour with each to stop the mixture curdling. Beat in the treacle.
4
Fold in the remaining flour, the ground almonds and the spices, then the soaked fruit with any liquid.
5
Spoon into the tin, level it and make a slight hollow in the centre so it rises flat. Arrange the blanched almonds on top.
6
Bake for 3½–4 hours, until a skewer pushed into the centre comes out clean; if the top browns too much after 2 hours, cover it with paper.
7
Cool completely in the tin. Prick all over with a skewer and spoon over 1 tbsp of the feeding brandy.
8
Wrap in fresh baking paper and foil and store in a tin somewhere cool. Feed with 1 tbsp brandy every week for 3–4 weeks before Christmas.

britishdessertchristmasvegetariantraditional

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British cuisine

Questions and answers

How long does Christmas Fruit Cake take to make?

About 280 minutes: 40 min prep and 240 min cooking.

What ingredients do you need for Christmas Fruit Cake?

17 ingredients: raisins, sultanas, currants, dried sour cherries or cranberries, mixed candied peel, brandy, orange, lemon, butter, soft dark brown sugar, eggs, plain flour and 5 more.

How many servings does this Christmas Fruit Cake recipe make?

16 servings. The servings buttons above the ingredients rescale every amount.

How many calories are in a serving of Christmas Fruit Cake?

About 365 kcal, with 6.2 g protein, 49 g carbohydrate and 17.6 g fat. This is an estimate from the ingredients, not a lab analysis.

Which diets does this Christmas Fruit Cake recipe suit?

It is vegetarian.

What cuisine is Christmas Fruit Cake?

Christmas Fruit Cake comes from British cuisine.

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