This moist Christmas cake recipe makes a delicious traditional British fruit cake with brandy. If you age this fruit cake for a few days, it will taste even better!
You have to celebrate Christmas with a fruit cake! It’s a holiday staple for most households during Christmas. Honestly, one of the main reasons for baking one is to fill my home with a festive aroma when the cake is out of the oven.
Fruit cake is actually a traditional British Christmas cake that is filled with all kinds of dried fruits and nuts. Alcohol is also normally added to the fruit cake, usually brandy. This does not just give it a subtle brandy flavor, but also maintains its moist texture. Furthermore, the added alcohol also kills bacteria and delays the spoiling process. (It means you can store the fruit cake much longer!)
This Christmas cake recipe is prepared in the style of boiling the ingredients first before baking. It saves you a lot of time, plus this method develops and intensifies the flavors.
One more thing, this is not your average store-bought, dry and bland fruit cake! This is arguably the BEST Christmas fruit cake! It is made with a lot of ingredients, perfectly moist and balanced with flavors. Invite your friends over this festive season and enjoy this Christmas cake with a glass of red wine or just a cup of nice coffee.
How to make (step-by-step)
Step 1: Simmer the fruit mix
Put the butter, sugar, treacle, sultanas, mixed fruits, dried cranberries, golden raisins, black raisins, orange rind and juice and brandy into a large saucepan.
Bring the fruit mix to the boil slowly, then lower the heat immediately and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Remember to stir occasionally to prevent the ingredients from sticking at the bottom of the saucepan.
After that, remove the saucepan from the heat and leave it aside to cool.
Step 2: Making the batter
Turn on the oven and preheat it to 300°F/150°C. Grease and line the base of a deep 9.5” or 24cm round cake tin.
Add in the eggs, ground almonds and mixed nuts into the cooled fruit mixture and mix well. Fold in the flour, baking powder and mixed spice and stir gently until all ingredients are mixed thoroughly.
Spoon the cake batter into the prepared tin. Smooth the top of the batter.
Step 3: Baking the Christmas cake
Put the cake tin into the preheated oven and bake at 300°F/150°C for 50 minutes. Then, lower the heat to 275°F/140°C and bake for another 1 hour, or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.
Remove from the cake tin from the oven and leave it on a wire rack to cool. Remove the cake from the cake tin and store.
The longer you keep the Christmas cake, the more it develops flavors over time. I recommend serving it after a day or two.
Recipes Questions & Quick Tips
What kind of alcohol is best for fruit cake?
You can use brandy, rum or whiskey for this recipe. Different alcohol gives a different taste, but I personally always go with brandy.
Can I substitute other types of dried fruit?
If making substitutions, I highly recommend following the same weight of all the dried fruits combined. This Christmas cake recipe calls for a total of 1kg (about 6⅔ cups) of dried fruits. As long as you maintain the same weight of dried fruits, you can change the ratio or use other types of dried fruits.
How to store the Christmas fruit cake?
After cooling the cake, wrap it with brandy-soaked cheesecloths or towels and store it in an airtight container. This way maintains the moisture, and at the same time, allows the cake’s flavors to meld and deepen.
Most people recommend to age the cake for a few weeks, but if you don’t have time, you can just age it a few days and the results are still great! The alcohol balances the sweetness of the cake, as well as develops the fragrance of the cake. If you do plan to age it for a few weeks, you can resoak the cheesecloths or towels with brandy once every week.
Storing at room temperature can last for a month. If the fruit cake is kept in the fridge, it can last for at least 2 months or longer.
What is the best time to start baking fruit cake?
Fruit cake improves in flavor over time, so the sooner you can bake, the better.
More Dessert Recipes
Christmas Cake Recipe
This Christmas cake recipe is moist, super flavorful, and sure to please your friends and family. It has a lot of ingredients including mixed dried fruits, mixed nuts and brandy!
Ingredients
For the fruit mix (to be simmered)
- 1⅛ cup (250g) butter, cut into pieces, plus extra for greasing
- 1½ cup (300g) dark brown sugar
- 2 tbsp black treacle (or blackstrap molasses)
- ⅔ cup (100g) sultanas
- 1⅓ cup (200g) golden raisins
- 1⅓ cup (200g) black raisins
- 1⅔ cup (250g) mixed fruits
- 1⅔ cup (250g) dried cranberries
- finely grated rind and juice of 1 large orange
- 3¼ fl oz (90ml) brandy
For the cake
- ¾ cup (100g) walnuts, chopped
- ⅔ cup (75g) pecan nuts, chopped
- ½ cup (55g) ground almonds
- 2⅓ cup (325g) plain flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tbsp ground mixed spice
Instructions
- Place the butter, sugar, treacle, sultanas, golden raisins, black raisins, mixed fruits, dried cranberries, orange rind and juice and brandy in a large saucepan. Bring it slowly to the boil, then reduce the heat immediately and simmer gently for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.
- Preheat the oven to 300°F/150°C. Grease and line base of a deep 9.5-inch/24cm round cake tin.
- Stir the eggs, mixed nuts and ground almonds into the cooled fruit mixture and mix well. Sift in the flour, baking powder and mixed spice. Stir in gently but thoroughly. Spoon into the prepared tin. Smooth the top.
- Bake in the preheated oven at 300°F/150°C for 50 minutes, then reduce the heat to 275°F/140°C and bake for 1 hour, or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin, then turn out and store.
- The cake develops flavors over time and is best enjoyed after a day or two.
Notes
- You could substitute rum for the brandy, which gives a slightly different taste to this rich fruit cake.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
32Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 63Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 15mgCarbohydrates: 14gFiber: 1gSugar: 5gProtein: 1g
For the best results, I always recommend using the gram measurements with a digital scale. Cup measurements are just not accurate enough and usually cannot guarantee the best results.
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