Description
A classic, moist Christmas cake filled with mixed dried fruits, glacé cherries, and cranberries soaked in cherry brandy. This traditional fruit cake is perfect for holiday celebrations and improves in flavor when fed weekly with brandy before icing and decorating.
Ingredients
Scale
Fruit Mixture
- 175 g unsalted butter chopped
- 210 g light brown muscavado sugar packed
- 400 g mixed dried fruit
- 200 g glacé cherries roughly chopped
- 100 g dried cranberries
- Zest and juice of 1 orange
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 120 ml cherry brandy (plus extra for feeding and soaking)
Dry Ingredients
- 85 g ground almonds coarsely ground
- 200 g plain (all-purpose) flour
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp ground mixed spice
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground allspice
Others
- 3 large eggs lightly whisked
Instructions
- Prepare the fruit mixture: In a large saucepan, combine the butter, muscavado sugar, mixed dried fruit, glacé cherries, dried cranberries, orange zest and juice, lemon zest, and all but 4 tablespoons of the cherry brandy. Heat over medium heat until it comes to a gentle bubble, then reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Cool the fruit mixture: Remove the pan from heat and let the fruit mixture cool for 30 minutes until slightly cooled.
- Preheat and line the cake tin: Preheat the oven to 150C (300F) fan. Line a 20 cm (8 inch) springform cake tin with baking parchment, lining the sides first so that parchment extends about 2 inches above the tin, then placing a circle of parchment at the base.
- Mix ground almonds and eggs: Stir the ground almonds into the cooled fruit mixture, followed by the lightly whisked eggs until fully combined.
- Add dry ingredients: Sift together the flour, baking powder, mixed spice, cinnamon, and allspice, then fold these into the fruit and almond mixture gently until just combined.
- Fill the cake tin: Spoon the batter into the lined cake tin, smoothing the top flat with the back of a spoon.
- Bake the cake: Bake for 45 minutes at 150C (300F) fan, then reduce the temperature to 140C (275F) fan and continue baking for 1 hour 30 minutes until the cake is dark brown on top and a skewer inserted comes out clean. Cover the cake with foil if it starts to brown too much.
- Feed and cool: While the cake is still hot, poke 10–12 holes all over using a skewer and pour the remaining 4 tablespoons of cherry brandy over the top. Allow the cake to cool in the tin, then remove it. Wrap tightly in double layers of baking parchment and foil and place in an airtight container at room temperature.
- Weekly feeding: Feed the cake with 1 to 2 tablespoons of cherry brandy once a week until a few days before marzipanning and icing.
Notes
- Use a 20 cm (8 inch) cake tin for a taller cake; a 23 cm (9 inch) tin results in a shorter cake but bakes with the same times.
- For a square tin, use 17.75x17.75 cm (7x7 inch) for a 20 cm round or 20x20 cm (8x8 inch) for a 23 cm round.
- Store wrapped cake in an airtight container away from sunlight at room temperature and feed regularly with brandy to keep moist.
- The cake keeps well for 4-5 months when stored properly; it can also be frozen for up to a year uniced.
- If your oven is gas, add an extra 15-30 minutes to the bake time as gas ovens tend to cook slower.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice (approx. 1/16 cake)
- Calories: 350 kcal
- Sugar: 30 g
- Sodium: 80 mg
- Fat: 15 g
- Saturated Fat: 8 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 50 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 4 g
- Cholesterol: 80 mg
