Christmas Cake

Our easy to follow recipe for a rich classic Christmas cake.

Serves
8
Preparation time
20 minutes
Cooking time
240 minutes

Ingredients

  • 225g plain flour
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp mixed spice
  • ½ tsp ground cinnamon
  • 200g butter
  • 200g dark brown sugar
  • 2 tbsp black treacle
  • 1 tbsp marmalade
  • ¼ tsp vanilla essence
  • 4 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 350g raisins
  • 250g sultanas
  • 200g currants
  • 100g chopped mixed peel
  • 150g glacé cherries, halved
  • 100g blanched almonds, chopped
  • brandy
  • To decorate:
  • icing sugar, to dust
  • 200g marzipan
  • 1-2 tbsp apricot jam, warmed
  • 454g pack ready to roll icing

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 150°C/300°F/Gas. Grease a 20cm round or 18cm square cake tin and line with non-stick baking parchment.
  2. Sieve the flour, salt and spices into a bowl.
  3. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar, add the treacle, marmalade and vanilla, and mix until light and fluffy.
  4. Mix in the eggs a little at a time, adding 1 tbsp of the flour mixture with the last egg.
  5. Fold in the remaining flour mixture until well combined, then stir in the fruit and almonds.
  6. Turn the mixture into the tin and make a slight hollow in the centre. Bake for 3 hours, then test with a skewer – it is ready if it comes out clean. If not ready, bake for up to another hour, testing every 20 minutes.
  7. Remove from oven and leave to cool in tin for 15 minutes, then turn onto a wire rack.
  8. Once cool, make a few holes in the top of the cake with a skewer and pour over 3-4 tbsp brandy. Store the cake, wrapped in foil, in an airtight tin or plastic container.
  9. For a rich, moist cake, spoon over 1-2 tbsp brandy every week until ready to decorate.
  10. To decorate, place the cake on a foil board or cake plate and dust your hands and work surface with a little icing sugar.
  11. Knead the marzipan until soft. Roll out half to fit the top of the cake and the rest into strips for the sides. Brush the cake all with jam, and cover with the marzipan.
  12. Dust your hands and work surface with more icing sugar; roll out the icing to cover the cake. Lift over the cake using a rolling pin, smooth down and trim excess.

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