Christmas Cake

A rich, moist fruit cake packed with raisins, currants, candied peel, and pecans, gently spiced and laced with sherry. It keeps beautifully for several months, making it the perfect make-ahead centrepiece for the festive table.

Ingredients

• Butter

  ⚖ 200 g 14¼ pcs
  kcal/г%DV

  Calories

  143471%

  Protein

  1.73%

  Total Fat

  162.2200%

  Carbohydrates

  0.10%
• Muscovado Sugar

  ⚖ 200 g 💧 227.3 ml 🥛 1 cup
  kcal/г%DV

  Calories

  76038%

  Protein

  0.20%

  Total Fat

  0.00%

  Carbohydrates

  196.271%
• Raisins

  ⚖ 250 g 50 pcs
  kcal/г%DV

  Calories

  74737%

  Protein

  8.216%

  Total Fat

  0.60%

  Carbohydrates

  198.272%
• Pecan Nuts

  ⚖ 100 g 💧 90.9 ml 🥄 6⅛ tbsp
  kcal/г%DV

  Calories

  69134%

  Protein

  9.218%

  Total Fat

  72.092%

  Carbohydrates

  13.95%
• Plain Flour

  ⚖ 200 g 💧 333.3 ml 🥛 1⅓ cup
  kcal/г%DV

  Calories

  67833%

  Protein

  26.452%

  Total Fat

  5.06%

  Carbohydrates

  144.052%
• Ground Almonds

  ⚖ 50 g 33⅓ pcs
  kcal/г%DV

  Calories

  28914%

  Protein

  10.621%

  Total Fat

  24.931%

  Carbohydrates

  10.83%
• Eggs

  ⚖ 200 g 🥚 4 pcs
  kcal/г%DV

  Calories

  28614%

  Protein

  25.250%

  Total Fat

  19.024%

  Carbohydrates

  1.40%
• Candied Peel

  ⚖ 85 g None
  kcal/г%DV

  Calories

  27313%

  Protein

  0.30%

  Total Fat

  0.10%

  Carbohydrates

  70.325%
• Currants

  ⚖ 250 g None
  kcal/г%DV

  Calories

  1407%

  Protein

  3.57%

  Total Fat

  0.50%

  Carbohydrates

  34.512%
• Mixed Spice

  ⚖ 15 g 💧 30 ml 🥄 2 tbsp
  kcal/г%DV

  Calories

  512%

  Protein

  0.91%

  Total Fat

  1.92%

  Carbohydrates

  10.43%
• Vanilla Extract

  ⚖ 15 g 💧 17 ml 🥄 1⅛ tbsp
  kcal/г%DV

  Calories

  432%

  Protein

  0.00%

  Total Fat

  0.00%

  Carbohydrates

  1.90%
• Lemon

  ⚖ 100 g 🍋 1¼ pcs
  kcal/г%DV

  Calories

  291%

  Protein

  1.12%

  Total Fat

  0.30%

  Carbohydrates

  9.33%
• Baking Powder

  ⚖ 15 g 💧 16.7 ml 🥄 1⅛ tbsp
  kcal/г%DV

  Calories

  70%

  Protein

  0.00%

  Total Fat

  0.00%

  Carbohydrates

  3.61%

Also in this recipe

• Sherry 100 ml
• Glace Cherry 85 g
• Rose water 1

Instructions

• Heat the oven to 160°C / fan 140°C / gas mark 3. Line the base and sides of a 20 cm round, 7.5 cm deep cake tin with baking paper.
• Beat 200 g butter and 200 g muscovado sugar together with an electric hand mixer for 1–2 minutes until very creamy and pale, scraping down the sides of the bowl halfway through. Stir in a spoonful of the 200 g plain flour, then alternately fold in the 4 beaten eggs and the remaining flour a quarter at a time, beating well with a wooden spoon after each addition. Stir in 50 g ground almonds.
• Pour in 100 ml sherry and mix well — the batter may look curdled at this stage. Add 85 g candied peel, 85 g glacé cherries, 250 g raisins, 250 g currants, 100 g pecan nuts, the grated zest of 1 lemon, 1½ tbsp mixed spice, 1½ tbsp rose water, and ½ tsp vanilla extract. Beat everything together until combined, then stir in ½ tsp baking powder.
• Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin, smooth the top, and make a slight dip in the centre to help it bake level. Bake for 30 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 150°C / fan 130°C / gas mark 2 and bake for a further 2–2¼ hours, until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
• Leave the cake to cool completely in the tin, then remove and peel off the lining paper. Once fully cold, wrap tightly in cling film and then foil. Stored this way, the cake will keep for several months until you are ready to decorate it.