Christmas spiced fruit cake
This is a fantastically rich, moist and fruity Christmas cake. It's best to make this cake ahead of time for the flavours to mature. Enjoy as is or cover in a layer of marzipan and royal icing.
Ingredients
Serves: 12
- 450g glace cherries
- 225g cut mixed peel
- 300g raisins
- 150g currants
- 150g dates, pitted and chopped
- 125g blanched flaked almonds
- 125ml brandy
- 60g plain flour
- 250g plain flour
- 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 225g butter
- 450g dark brown soft sugar
- 6 eggs
- 275g treacle
- 185ml apple juice
Method
Prep:30min ›
Cook:3hr30min ›
Extra time:2hr soaking ›
Ready in:6hr
- In a medium bowl, combine cherries, mixed peel, raisins, currants, dates and almonds. Stir in brandy; let stand 2 hours or overnight. Dredge soaked fruit with 60g flour.
- Preheat oven to 140 C / Gas 1. Grease an 20x20x7.5cm cake tin, line with baking parchment and grease again. In a small bowl, mix together 250g flour, bicarbonate of soda, cloves, allspice, cinnamon and salt; set aside.
- In a large bowl, cream butter until light. Gradually blend in dark brown soft sugar and eggs. Mix together treacle and apple juice. Beat into butter mixture alternately with flour mixture, making 4 dry and 3 liquid additions. Fold in floured fruit. Turn into prepared tin.
- Bake in preheated oven for 3 to 3 1/2 hours or until a skewer inserted into the centre of cake comes out clean. Remove from tin and lift off baking parchment. Cool cake completely and then wrap loosely in greaseproof paper. Store in an airtight container for 6-8 weeks to mature.
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Reviews & ratings
Average global rating:
(24)
Reviews in English (24)
Really easy and a great smelling cake. Can not wait for Christmas to taste the mature cake. - 14 Nov 2011
Can't wait until mines comes out the oven, the smell is amazing. Since the 1st review (13 Nov), i added some brandy twice before putting mazipan and icing on it. Once Christmas dinner was over, i cut into it and it was delightful. Everyone was some impressed how moist it was. For the 2nd year running, ive made this (square), and i`m going to have to make another(circle), so it will be a 2 tier Christmas cake - 13 Nov 2015
I made this two years in a row, and it really is fantastic! - 14 May 2015
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