Fancy making homemade Christmas cake but don’t have the time? Make my Easy Christmas Cake Muffins instead! These cute mini Christmas cakes have all the flavours of a traditional Christmas cake but take just 45 minutes from start to finish. They are perfect for taking to events or making with children!
This blog post contains affiliate links, this means if you click on a link and go on to buy the product I recommend, I will get a small commission, but you will not be charged a penny more – thanks in advance!
Christmas Cake – in muffin form!
I have shared A LOT of easy peasy Christmas cake recipes on my website:
- Easy Christmas Cake Traybake
- Easy Mincemeat Christmas Cake (The BEST Christmas Cake Hack!)
- All-In-One Christmas Cake
- Last Minute Emergency Christmas Cake
- Easy Christmas Loaf Cake
- Small Round Christmas Cake (6 Inch Tin)
But, no matter how you make your Christmas cake, it is quite time consuming. I wanted to come up with a recipe that was even easier to make AND could be made quickly… and so began the idea of Christmas Cake Muffins – all the delicious flavour of a classic Christmas cake but without the long cook time.
I took my most popular Christmas cake recipe and tried to simplify things a little further, then, instead of baking as a large cake, I divided the mixture into 12 muffin cases – meaning these cute mini Christmas cakes take just 30 minutes in the oven. (Compared to the usual 2 hours or more for traditional cakes!)
The result are these deliciously easy Christmas Cake Muffins – all the flavours of a traditional Christmas cake in just 45 minutes!
(Psst. Need your Christmas muffins to be Free From? I have a gluten, dairy and alcohol free version of this recipe here: Free From Christmas Cake Muffins)
How to make Christmas Cake Muffins
These Christmas Cake Muffins are so easy to make!
All you need to do is place the dried fruit in a saucepan, add sherry (see the recipe card below for alternatives), orange juice and boiling water. Bring to the boil, then simmer.
Meanwhile, beat together butter and sugar, and then add eggs, flour and spices. Next, add in the boiled fruit and plus some glacé cherries and divide the cake mixture evenly between the muffin cases.
Finally, bake for 30 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean! (No skewer? No worries! Just use a teaspoon handle instead 😀 )
(Full recipe given in the recipe card below.)
How to decorate Christmas Cake Muffins
I prefer these Christmas muffins just as they are – undecorated.
But if you want to decorate them, a drizzle of icing, made by mixing icing sugar with the juice of an orange would be lovely and you could top with some more glace cherries or any decoration of your choosing!
Why boil the fruit?
You might be wondering why I boil the fruit for this recipe…
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 choose).
Well, boiling the fruit achieves all the same benefits of this overnight soaking… but in a fraction of the time – just 10 minutes, in fact. And this recipe is all about speed!
(And if you want to make this alcohol free, simply use apple juice instead of the alcohol.)
What type of muffin cases should you use for Christmas Cake Muffins?
You can use regular muffin cases for these Christmas muffins, but I prefer to use these beautiful tulip muffin cases, which you can easily buy on Amazon.
Either way, ensure your muffin cases are 5cm at the base and at least 3.5cm tall – don’t use the tiny cupcake cases! (Well, you can, but you’ll make more of them and they will need less time in the oven.)
How to store Christmas Cake Muffins
Simply store these Christmas Cake Muffins in an airtight cake tin.
How long do Christmas Cake Muffins keep for?
In an airtight tin, these muffins will last about a week, but they are best in the first 3-4 days. However they can be frozen, if you want them to last longer (see below).
Can you freeze Christmas Cake Muffins?
Amazingly yes! You can freeze undecorated Christmas Cake Muffins. Put them in a plastic lidded container, or airtight freezer bag, and place in the freezer, where they will keep for 3-6 months.
Defrost at room temperature and decorate as above.
I wouldn’t recommend freezing decorated Christmas Cake Muffins, however, as the icing does not fare well in the freezer!
If you like this recipe…
…you might also like:
- Traditional Christmas Cake
- Easy Square Christmas Cake
- Easy Christmas Cake Traybake
- Last Minute Emergency Christmas Cake
- Easy Mincemeat Christmas Cake (The BEST Christmas Cake Hack!)
- All-In-One Christmas Cake
- Easy Christmas Loaf Cake
- Small Round Christmas Cake (6 Inch Tin)
- Christmas Cake Cheesecake (No Bake)
Easy Christmas Cake Traybake
Easy Christmas Cake Muffins
Ingredients
- 500 g mixed dried fruit (See Note 1)
- 100 ml sherry (or brandy / whisky / gin / rum - or use apple juice if you want this to be alcohol free)
- Juice of 1 orange
- 100 ml boiling water
- 150 g butter (plus extra for greasing)
- 150 g soft dark brown sugar (ormuscovado sugar)
- 2 large eggs
- 200 g self-raising flour (AKA self-rising flour)
- 2 teaspoons mixed spice (or pumpkin spice)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 150 g glace cherries halved
Instructions
- Place the dried fruit in a saucepan. Squeeze over the juice of the orange and pour over the sherry and boiling water. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 10 minutes (lid OFF), stirring every couple of minutes. Leave to stand until needed.
- Preheat your oven to 180C / 160C fan / gas mark 4 / 350F. Put 12 muffin cases in a muffin tin.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter and sugar thoroughly.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, beating the mixture until smooth after each one.
- Gently fold in the flour, mixed spice and cinnamon until fully incorporated.
- Add the glacé cherries and the dried fruit, plus any remaining liquid from the saucepan. (There should be very little liquid left, as most of it will have soaked into the fruit or evaporated.) Stir gently until the fruit is evenly distributed.
- Divide the mixture evenly between the muffin cases.
- Cook in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Check with a skewer – if cooked the skewer should come out clean. If not give the muffins an extra couple of minutes and try again.
- Serve just as they are or with a simple icing made from icing sugar and orange juice.
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. I have used both this one and this one in the past. 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.
- Suitable for freezing.
- Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.
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Disclosure
This blog post contains affiliate links, this means if you click on a link and go on to buy the product I recommend, I will get a small commission, but you will not be charged a penny more – thanks in advance!
Kate - Gluten Free Alchemist says
Love these Eb….. I’m not a huge lover of Christmas Cake, so mini bite sized versions would suit me fine! x
Eb Gargano says
These are PERFECT for that…this recipe only makes 12…so just enough to feel like you’ve had a taste of Christmas cake for the year, but not so much as you begin to feel obliged to eat it because it it STILL there at the end of February!! 😀 Eb x
Corina Blum says
These are gorgeous Eb! I love the idea of that simple orange glaze that you could top them with too. Thanks so much for sharing with #CookOnceEatTwice x
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Corina! They are so delicious…and so quick and easy to make!! Eb x
Angela / Only Crumbs Remain says
These are fab Eb! I love making mini fruit cakes too as you say they bake in a trife of the time and are perfect for sharing with loved ones. I’m just in the process of deciding what fondant chracters & shapes to decorate our mini ones with!
Angela x
Angela / Only Crumbs Remain says
PS, thankyou so much for joining in with #BakingCrumbs Eb 😀
Eb Gargano says
A pleasure! So glad I could join in this month 😀 Eb x
Eb Gargano says
Exactly – I do love christmas cake, but it takes an awful long time in the oven – these mini ones can be done in a flash (problem is they are also gone in a flash…) Looking forward to seeing what your next fondant characters will be. Eb x
Midge @ Peachicks' Bakery says
How cute are these & would be a great idea for breakfast on the big day!
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Midge – I do like your idea of having them for Christmas breakfast 😀 Eb x
Kat (The Baking Explorer) says
These look yummy and so much easier than making a whole cake weeks in advance!
Eb Gargano says
Thanks – they are so quick and easy to make! Perfect if you are short of time 🙂 Eb x
Kirsty Hijacked By Twins says
We all love Christmas cake, I will admit that we have got one that is already started and a second one that is still maturing! These sound so good! Thank you for sharing with #CookBlogShare x
Eb Gargano says
TWO???!! Now that is just greedy! 😉 Though to be fair…I’ve made 36 this year…albeit they were these mini ones! And I have plans to make these again with the kids when they are off…there can never be too much Christmas cake!!!! 😀 Eb x
Eva @ The Healthy Tart says
These look gorgeous and so simple, sounds like a great alternative to Christmas cake, thanks for sharing the recipe. 🙂
Eb Gargano says
Thank you Eva – they really are so quick and simple to make! Eb x
Deborah says
Hi I’m an Almond meal user how would Almond sub in? Ratio? and Erythritol or Maple sub? & Olive oil not Butter ration as I love your Mini Xmas muffin idea PERFECTLY
Kind regards Deborah
Eb Gargano says
Hi Deborah, I’m so glad you like my recipe – I’m afraid I simply don’t know the answer to your question – I’d honestly just b guessing (or googling!) if I tried to answer it! My only suggestion would be to try and make the substitutions 1:1 and see what happens, then you’ll know what you need to adjust to make it perfect for you! Do let me know how you get on, if you try it. Eb 🙂
S says
How long do they keep for?
Eb Gargano says
About a week, but they are best in the first 3-4 days. However they can be frozen, if you want them to last longer. Eb 🙂
Louise says
Made these last Christmas for our family as they were nut and peanut free as my son has an allergy but likes fruit cakes. They were absolutely delicious and gave a couple to my parents who were equally delighted with them . Stuck some in the freezer and forgot about them until I spotted them a few days ago so got them out and they were still tasted beautiful. Last one polished off so will be making more soon and hopefully wont forget if I pop some in the freezer
Eb Gargano says
Yay – that’s so great to hear! Thanks for this lovely review 😀