The smell of Christmas comes early in our house when cake, mincemeat and pudding are all made in advance, ready for the big day. This is my grandmother's recipe, a moist cake filled with dried fruits, almonds, cherries and citrus fruit. Tradition dictates that it should be made at least six weeks before Christmas to allow the flavours to mature, and once cooked it should be regularly 'fed' with brandy to keep it moist!
225g butter
225g caster sugar
340g plain flour
6 eggs
450g currants
225g large raisins
225g sultanas
100g lemon zest
50g mixed peel
100g glace cherries
100g almonds
50g ground almonds
½tsp ground cloves
½tsp ground cinnamon
½tsp ground ginger
I have substituted lemon zest for ‘lemon peel’ and mixed peel for ‘citron peel’. I have also included the option of using spices.
You can also make your own candied peel - instructions given here.
I used a 23cm diameter springform cake tin which was perfect for the amount of ingredients shown.
Note, this cake is alcohol free, so if you want a boozy version, soak the dried fruit overnight in about 100ml of good brandy.
First of all, prepare your cake tin. Cut two circles of greaseproof paper to fit the bottom. For the sides, measure around the tin and cut a length of greaseproof paper to fit, allowing about 10cm extra height. This is important to stop the cake from ‘scorching’ while it cooks. Fold up 2cm and snip at intervals up to the fold. Put around the inside of the tin (the cut edge onto the base) and put your circles in. Then wrap the outside with a double layer of brown paper (again 10cm higher than the rim of the tin) and tie it with string.
Preheat the oven to 150ºC.
Measure out the flour and add the spices. In a separate bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Then beat in the lemon zest and mixed peel. Add the eggs, one at a time, alternating with a couple of tablespoons of the flour mixture. Then mix in the fruit (soaked or otherwise), almonds, cherries, and the remainder of the flour mixture.
Put into the prepared tin and bake for 3-3½ hours or until a skewer comes out clean. I checked after 3 hours and it was ready. Remove from the oven, pour a little more brandy over the top and wrap the whole thing tightly in a double layer of tin foil. When it's completely cool, unwrap, take the cake out of the tin and remove the greaseproof paper. Then rewrap it in a double layer of tin foil and place it in an airtight container in a cool, dry place.
Drizzle the cake with extra brandy during the storage time to keep it moist - my mother used to store her cake upside down and every week or so, she would unwrap it, poke a skewer into the base of the cake a few times, spoon brandy over it and wrap it up again. This made sure the top of the cake was kept moist.
Instructions for making your own marzipan to cover your cake are given here.
And to finish off, take a look at my grandmother's royal icing recipe.
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