Easy Peasy Traditional Christmas Cake
This Easy Peasy Traditional Christmas Cake is a well tried and tested family recipe that has stood the test of time (several decades in my family). It doesn't need feeding and so is suitable to give to kids - if they'll eat it!!
Servings 30 slices
Calories 241kcal
Ingredients
Cake
- 250 g softened butter
- 250 g light soft brown sugar
- 250 g sultanas
- 250 g seedless raisins
- 250 g currants
- 60 g ground almonds
- 125 g diced mixed peel
- 125 g glace cherries
- 3 large eggs
- 50 ml sherry (or apple juice if you want to make this alcohol free)
- 1 very heaped tablespoon golden syrup
- 250 g self-raising flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon mixed spice
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
Icing (optional)
- Shredless marmalade or sieved apricot jam
- Ready-rolled marzipan
- Ready-rolled white icing
- Decorations (optional)
Equipment
- A large mixing bowl
- Two smaller mixing bowls and a little bowl for the cherries
- A jug
- A 20cm / 8 inch cake tin
- Greaseproof paper
- Brown paper
- Baking sheet
- A skewer
- A cooling wire
Instructions
Preparation
- Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl until pale.
- In a separate bowl mix together the flour, ground almonds and spices.
- Wash the sultanas, raisins and currants and place in a third bowl together with the chopped mixed peel.
- Rinse and dry the cherries. Place in a small bowl and dust with a little flour (to stop them sinking in the cake).
- In a jug, mix the eggs, golden syrup and sherry (or apple juice).
- Line the base and sides of a 20cm / 8inch cake tin with a double layer of greased greaseproof paper, having greased the tin first. Make sure the paper which lines the sides stands 7cm above the rim of the tin.
- To ensure the cake does not have a hard base, line a baking sheet with 4 layers of thick brown paper.
- Preheat your oven to 165C / 145C fan / gas mark 3 / 325F.
Assembly
- Add a handful (or large spoonful) of flour to the creamed butter and sugar. Then add a small amount of the egg mixture and a handful of the fruit mixture and work together well, ideally with your hands (but you could do it with a wooden spoon if you don’t fancy the idea of getting your hands messy).
- Repeat this process until all the ingredients are well mixed, then finally add the cherries and mix again.
- Put the mixture in the prepared tin and flatten down evenly.
Baking
- Place the cake tin on the prepared baking sheet and put into your preheated oven for 1 hour.
- Reduce the heat to 150C / 130 fan / gas mark 2 / 300F and cook for a second hour.
- Cover with a little hat of greaseproof paper and bake for a third hour.
- Remove from the oven and check it is cooked properly by inserting a skewer – the skewer should be clean when removed.
After Baking
- Trim the greaseproof paper back to the level of the tin’s rim and place on a cooling wire upside down still in its tin.
- Leave until completely cold (ideally the next day).
- Slide the cake out, wrap securely with foil and store in a cake tin until Christmas.
Icing (optional)
- Cover the entire cake in warmed shredless marmalade (or sieved apricot jam).
- Place the ready-rolled marzipan onto the cake and gently smooth down the sides. Trim off any excess. Lightly cover and leave for 1-2 days, ideally.
- Lightly brush the marzipan with water and place the ready-rolled icing on top of the cake. Gently smooth down the sides and trim off any excess.
- Decorate if desired.
Notes
Suitable for freezing.
Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.
Nutrition
Calories: 241kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 34mg | Sodium: 76mg | Potassium: 236mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 24g | Vitamin A: 240IU | Vitamin C: 1.1mg | Calcium: 33mg | Iron: 0.9mg