This All-In-One Christmas Cake is super quick and easy to make… and because it’s all made in one pan, there’s minimal washing up too – and yet it tastes just as good as those much more complicated recipes. (I’d argue it’s actually even better!) So, if you need a stress-free, super simple and practically foolproof Christmas cake in your life, this is the one!
Can you make a Christmas cake all in one pan?
Absolutely! In fact, it’s very easy to make an All-In-One Christmas Cake.
Better still, this All-In-One Christmas Cake is super quick – just 1h30 from start to finish! And yet it tastes just as good as much more complicated recipes. (In fact, I’d argue it’s actually even better than many much more complicated recipes I’ve tried!)
And because it’s all made in one pan, there’s minimal washing up too. So, if you need a stress-free, super simple and practically foolproof Christmas cake in your life, this All-In-One Christmas Cake is your answer!
How to make All-In-One Christmas Cake
This recipe could not be easier!
All you need to do is place dried fruit, orange juice, sherry (or whatever tipple you prefer – see the recipe card for alternatives) and water in a large saucepan, and simmer for 10 minutes.
Then, turn the heat off and add fridge-cold butter to the pan, followed by dark brown sugar, glacé cherries, flour, mixed spice and cinnamon, stirring each one in thoroughly before adding the next ingredient. Then, add the beaten eggs, and stir quickly until just mixed in. (See tips below.)
Next, tip the cake mixture into a prepared cake tin and get it straight into the oven. Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour or until a skewer, inserted into the middle of the cake, comes out clean.
Allow to fully cool on a wire cooling rack, then decorate with marzipan and fondant icing.
(Full recipe given in the recipe card below.)
Tips for making an All-In-One Christmas Cake
If you follow the recipe as written, this recipe is pretty much foolproof. However there are a couple of things to watch out for.
Tip #1: Remove the pan from the heat
For this to work, you need to ensure you turn off the heat / remove the pan from the heat BEFORE adding the rest of the ingredients. If you leave the pan on the heat, you are likely to end up with scrambled eggs!
Tip #2: Use fridge-cold butter
For the same reason, make sure you use fridge-cold butter in this recipe. This will cool the fruit/liquid down enough so the eggs won’t cook when you add them.
Tip #3: Add the ingredients in the correct order
It’s important you add the ingredients into the pan in the correct order. You’ll notice the ingredients I add first don’t mind being added to a hot pan, while the ingredients I add later – especially the eggs – are more sensitive to the heat and need to be added when the mixture is cooler.
Tip #4: Add the eggs last – and quickly!
The main thing that can go wrong with this All-In-One Christmas Cake is that the mixture is too hot when you add the eggs and so they cook on contact with the mixture and turn into scrambled eggs!
To avoid this happening, ensure you first follow Tips 1-3. This should mean the mixture is cool enough to add the eggs without them scrambling.
Then ensure that you have beaten the eggs before adding them.
And finally, when you add the eggs, make sure you stir them in quite quickly to be on the safe side. I have made this cake many times, and I have never had any problems with my eggs scrambling, but if in doubt, err on the side of caution!
Super easy Christmas cake decoration!
And it’s not just the Christmas cake that’s easy to make… the All-In-One Christmas Cake decoration is also super easy… and yet looks really pretty!
Simply roll out shop-bought marzipan and cut out a circle the same size as the cake. (I use the cake tin as a guide to get my circle the right shape!) Lightly brush the cake top with a very small amount of water and then pop the marzipan circle on top. (This is just to help the marzipan to stick – don’t go too mad here… You don’t want to make your cake wet!)
Next, roll out shop-bought fondant icing and cut out a circle the same size as the cake. (Again, I use the cake tin as a guide to get my circle the right shape!) Lightly brush the marzipan with a very small amount of water and then pop the fondant circle on top.
Finally, use an assortment of star cutters (or other Christmas shapes!) to cut out stars from the remaining marzipan. Lightly brush the underside of the marzipan stars with water and arrange on top of the cake.
All of this takes just 15 minutes to do, but looks very effective… And it is SO MUCH easier than trying to cover the whole cake – sides and all – with marzipan and fondant icing.
Why boil the fruit?
You might be wondering why I boil the fruit for this recipe…
Well, most Christmas cake recipes require you to soak the dried fruit overnight… it makes the cake wonderfully moist and infuses it with sherry (or whatever tipple you prefer) – but that’s not an option if you need a Christmas cake in a hurry!
Boiling the fruit achieves all the same benefits but in a fraction of the time! All you need to do is place the dried fruit in a large saucepan, along with the sherry (or whatever tipple you prefer – see the recipe card below for alternatives), orange juice and some water. Then bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes – by which time the fruit will be juicily plump and infused with gorgeous flavours.
Honestly, once you’ve tried this method, you’ll never bother soaking the dried fruit overnight again – it’s so easy peasy!
(And if you want to make this alcohol free, simply use apple juice instead of the alcohol.)
No need to feed…
Because this cake is already stuffed full of boozy, plump and juicy fruit, there’s no need to feed this cake with alcohol. It tastes amazing, just as it is. (Though if you want to feed it, that’s totally fine too – see below.)
How to feed a Christmas cake…
This cake tastes great, just as it is. But if you want to feed it with alcohol here’s how…
- Leave the cake to cool completely.
- Make several small holes in the top of the Christmas cake, using a skewer or knitting needle (or similar).
- Spoon approximately 4 teaspoonfuls of brandy over the top of your cake. (If you don’t like brandy… gin, whisky and rum also work well.)
- Carefully wrap the cake in a layer of baking paper and two layers of foil.
- Repeat once a week, up to a maximum of 4 times.
- Ensure you re-wrap your cake carefully each time after feeding.
- Leave at least a week after the last feed before you ice your cake.
How to store homemade Christmas cake
I’ve designed this cake so you can make it and decorate it all in one day. Once decorated, this cake should ideally be kept in an airtight tin to stop it going stale.
Alternatively, if you want to store this Christmas cake BEFORE decorating, simply wait until the cake is completely cold, then wrap first in a layer of baking paper and then a layer of foil. Ideally you would then put the cake in an airtight tin. However, if you can’t find a cake tin the right size, simply wrap in a second layer of foil.
How long will homemade Christmas cake last?
Un-decorated, and correctly stored (see above), a homemade Christmas cake will last for up to 6 months, though I recommend eating within 3 months for the optimal flavour and texture.
Once iced, a homemade Christmas cake will only last for a few weeks – a month at most. But for optimal flavour, I recommend eating within 2 weeks.
However, this cake is so delicious, I doubt it will even last that long. (It doesn’t in my house!)
Can you freeze Christmas cake?
Amazingly yes! You can freeze the un-decorated cake. First wrap in baking paper and a double layer of foil – as explained above, then pop it in your freezer, where it will keep for up to a year.
Defrost at room temperature and decorate as above.
I wouldn’t recommend freezing an iced Christmas cake, however, as the marzipan and fondant icing do not fare well in the freezer!
How to line your Christmas cake tin
You will definitely need to line the tin for this All-In-One Christmas Cake recipe, but it’s really quick and easy to do! Simply take a sheet of baking paper and draw around the cake tin, then cut out this circle. This is to line the base of the cake tin.
Next, cut out two fat strips of baking paper – they should each be more than half the circumference of the tin and more than the height of the tin. (For a 20cm / 8inch tin, each strip should be roughly 7cm by 40cm or 3inches by 16inches.) This is to line the sides of the tin.
Then, lightly grease the base and sides of the tin with a little butter and place the circle in the base of the tin. Place the strips round the sides of the tin – they should slightly overlap and, height-wise, they should come to about 2cm / 1inch above the height of the tin.
Finally, grease the base and sides again, just for good measure. (In theory, cake shouldn’t stick to baking paper – in practice, an extra layer of butter really does help the cake come off the paper better!)
If you like this recipe…
…you might also like:
- Easy Christmas Loaf Cake
- Small Round Christmas Cake
- Easy Mincemeat Christmas Cake (The BEST Christmas Cake Hack!)
- Christmas Cake Cheesecake (No Bake)
- Christmas Tree Brownies
- Easy Mincemeat Brownies
- Easy Christmas Rocky Road
Christmas Cake Cheesecake (No Bake)
All-In-One Christmas Cake
Equipment
- A large saucepan
- A wooden spoon
- Baking paper
- A round cake tin pan measuring approximately 20cm / 8inches in diameter and at least 5cm / 2inches deep.
- A skewer (You can improvise with a teaspoon handle if you don't have one)
- A wire cooling rack (You can improvise with a grill rack or oven shelf if you don’t have one)
- A rolling pin
- A sharp knife
- Star shaped cutters of various sizes (Or whatever Christmas shapes you like!)
Ingredients
For the cake…
- 500 g mixed dried fruit (ideally including mixed peel – see Note 1)
- Juice of 1 orange
- 100 ml sherry (or brandy / whisky / gin / rum - or use apple juice if you want this to be alcohol free)
- 100 ml boiling water
- 150 g butter fridge cold (plus extra for greasing)
- 150 g soft dark brown sugar
- 200 g glacé cherries halved
- 150 g self-raising flour (US - self-rising flour)
- 2 teaspoons mixed spice (or pumpkin spice)
- 1 teaspoons cinnamon
- 2 large eggs beaten
To decorate…
- 500 g marzipan (I prefer the paler ‘natural’ colour… but the bright yellow stuff works too!)
- 250 g white fondant icing
- Icing sugar (US - confectioner's sugar)
Instructions
For the cake…
- Place the dried fruit in a large saucepan. Squeeze over the juice of the orange and pour over the sherry and boiling water. Bring to the boil, then turn the heat right down and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring every couple of minutes.
- Preheat your oven to 160C / 140C fan / gas mark 3 / 325F. Grease and line your cake pan with baking paper. (See just above the recipe card for step by step instructions and photos of how to line your cake pan.)
- When the fruit has been simmering for 10 minutes, turn it off and remove the pan from the heat. Add the fridge-cold butter to the pan, and stir until the butter has completely melted and fully mixed in.
- Next, add the dark brown sugar, and stir until fully mixed in.
- Then, add the glacé cherries, and stir until fully mixed in.
- Next, add the flour, mixed spice and cinnamon, and stir until just mixed in.
- Then, add the beaten eggs, and stir quickly until just mixed in. (See Note 2.)
- Tip the cake mixture into your prepared cake tin and get it straight into the oven. Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour or until a skewer, inserted into the middle of the cake, comes out clean. (I check every 5 minutes from 50 minutes. It usually takes 55 minutes in my oven.)
- Leave to cool for 10 minutes in the tin (or until cool enough to handle without burning your hands!), then remove the cake from the tin and allow to fully cool on a wire cooling rack… The cake should take approximately 2 hours from the time it comes out of the oven to cool fully. Do not decorate until completely cool!
To decorate…
- Dust your worksurface with icing sugar. Take half the marzipan and roll it out to just a fraction larger than the cake. Cut out a circle the same size as the top of the cake, using a knife – use the cake tin as a guide to help you get the circle just the right size!
- Brush the cake with a very small amount of cold water. (This is to help the marzipan stick to the cake – be very sparing, you don’t want to make the cake wet!)
- Place the marzipan circle on top of the cake and trim any overhanging edges with a sharp knife.
- Roll out the white fondant icing to just a fraction larger than the cake. Cut a circle the same size as the top of the cake, using a knife – again, use the cake tin to help you get the circle just the right size!
- Brush the marzipan layer with a very small amount of cold water.
- Place the fondant on top of the cake and trim any overhanging edges with a sharp knife.
- Roll out the remaining marzipan and cut out a variety of different sized stars. (Or whatever Christmas shapes you like!)
- Place these stars at random on top of the cake, using a little cold water on the back of each star to stick them down.
- Your cake is now ready to eat!
Notes
- Ideally you want the dried mixed fruit to be a mix of sultanas, raisins, currants and candied mixed peel. You can usually find this ready mixed in supermarkets. If you can't find it ready mixed, buy the ingredients individually and go for these proportions: 40% sultanas / 30% raisins / 20% currants / 10% candied mixed peel.
- By the time you come to stir the beaten eggs into the mixture, it should have cooled sufficiently to ensure the eggs do not turn into scrambled eggs at this point (I have made this cake many times and it has never happened to me so far!) But to ensure this doesn’t happen, it is very important that you use fridge cold butter, and stir the ingredients into the mixture in the order I specify above, leaving the eggs until last. And it is important that you stir the eggs into the mixture quickly.
- Suitable for freezing.
- Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.
- The un-decorated cake is approximately 360 kcal per slice.
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