Classic Christmas Cake

Takes 180 minutes | Serves 12 |

Ingredients

1000 g Dried fruit mix (raisins, sultanas, currants, cherries, cranberries, prunes, or figs)
1 unit Orange zest and juice
1 unit Lemon zest and juice
150 ml Brandy/Cognac
250 g Butter, softened
200 g brown sugar
175 g Plain flour
100 g Ground almonds
0.5 tsp Baking powder
0.5 tsp Nutmeg
1 tsp Ground cinnamon
0.25 tsp Ground cloves
100 g Flaked almonds
4 units Eggs, large
1 tsp Vanilla extract

Steps

Preparing the Fruit Mixture

• Place the dried fruit, orange zest and juice, lemon zest and juice, brandy, butter, and brown sugar in a large pan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 5 minutes.
• Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and let it cool for 30 minutes.

Preparing the Tin

• Preheat the oven to 150°C. Line a 20cm deep cake tin with a double layer of baking parchment. Wrap a double layer of newspaper around the outside of the tin and secure with string.

Mixing the Batter

• Add plain flour, ground almonds, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon, ground cloves, flaked almonds, eggs, and vanilla extract to the cooled fruit mixture. Mix well to ensure there are no pockets of flour.

Baking the Cake

• Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and level the top with a spatula. Bake in the center of the oven for 2 hours.
• Check doneness with a skewer; if the skewer comes out with wet batter, bake for an additional 10 minutes and recheck. Repeat as needed until the skewer comes out clean.

Finishing and Storing

• Once baked, remove the cake from the oven. Poke holes into the surface with a skewer and drizzle 2 tbsp of brandy. Allow the cake to cool completely in the tin.
• Remove the baking parchment and store the cake in a cake tin. Feed the cake with 1–2 tbsp alcohol every two weeks until ready to ice.
• Stop feeding the cake 1 week before icing to allow the surface to dry.