Classic Christmas Fruitcake
Packed with delicious, juicy, soaked fruit, a citrus zest, and warm spice. This Classic Christmas Cake is a traditional treat. It's advised to make this cake with time to spare, to allow the flavours to mature. Can be decorated at any time before serving, or left as is.
Equipment
- Bowl
- Cake Tin
- Mixing Bowl
Ingredients
- 350 g seedless raisins
- 300 g sultanas
- 250 g currants
- 100 g glacé cherries quartered
- 1 orange finely grated zest
- 1 unwaxed lemon finely grated zest
- 100 ml brandy for soaking, plus little extra for 'feeding' the cake later (cold tea as a non-alcoholic soaking alternative)
- 250 g plain flour
- 2 tsp mixed spice
- 225 g unsalted butter softened
- 225 g soft brown sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 100 g blanched almonds finely chopped
Instructions
- Put the raisins, sultanas, currants, and cherries in a bowl with the lemon and orange zest and the 100ml of brandy (or cold tea). Cover it with clingfilm or beeswax wrap and allow it to soak for one to two days. The longer you leave it, the stronger the taste. Stir occasionally.
- Preheat your oven to 150c/130c fan/gas mark 2. Line your baking tin with 3 layers of baking paper (we recommend a 22cm deep round tin or a 20cm deep square tin). Sounds excessive but it does soak through!
- Sift your flour and mixed spice into a bowl.
- Beat your butter and soft brown sugar together in a mixing bowl or large bowl until a creamy texture is achieved. Beat in the large eggs one at a time. For the last two eggs, add in one heaped tbsp of the flour.
- Stir in the rest of the flour with the almonds. Add in your soaked fruits and any leftover soaking liquid. Stir well until mixed.
- Put the mixture into your cake tin and level off the top. Dampen your fingertips and pat the top of the cake gently, be careful not to make it too wet. This helps to prevent the top of your cake from getting too hard as it bakes.
- Bake for one hour. Cut two pieces of baking paper to the same size as the top of your cake and carefully cut a hole the size of a 10p coin in the centre of each. Lay your baking paper on top of your cake and reduce the heat to 140c/120c fan/gas mark 1 and bake for a further two to three hours or until a skewer in the middle comes out clean. We recommend testing after two hours as some ovens can vary in their efficiency.
- Once your skewer comes out clean, remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for thirty minutes. Remove from the tin, discard the baking paper and put on a rack to cool completely. Once cooled, wrap the cake in fresh baking paper and store in an airtight container.
- If you're planning to 'feed' the cake with brandy, each week after storing, unwrap the cake and pierce the top in several place with a skewer. Drizzle over approximately 1 tbsp of brandy, rewrap, and store away. Repeat for every week you're storing the cake (you won't need to re-pierce the holes).
Notes
Each 91g serving contains approximately:
314kcal
11.4g fat
5.5g saturates
34.0g sugars
0.09g salt Typically 345kcal per 100g.
314kcal
11.4g fat
5.5g saturates
34.0g sugars
0.09g salt Typically 345kcal per 100g.