Sugar and spice – this Christmas cake is a feast for the eyes and a promise of wonderful delights to come. Get your kitchen smelling delicious and impress your guests with our tried and true Christmas Cake.
How-To Make the Perfect Christmas Cake Recipe
Serves 16
Ingredients:
375g sultanas
150g raisins, chopped
150g currants
125g dried figs, finely chopped
125g pitted prunes, finely chopped
100g dried cranberries
100g dried pineapple, finely chopped
100g dried dates, chopped
100g mixed peel
½ cup slivered almonds
1 tbsp orange rind, finely grated
½ cup caster sugar
½ cup orange juice
½ cup dark rum
200g butter, softened
½ cup brown sugar
4 eggs
1½ cups plain flour
2 tsp mixed spice
¼ cup apricot jam, melted, strained
pure icing sugar, sifted
750g ready-made fondant icing
glace clementines, to decorate, optional
Method:
Combine dried fruits, mixed peel, almonds and orange rind in a large bowl. Place caster sugar in a frying pan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until sugar caramelises. Remove from heat. Carefully add orange juice. Return to low heat. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until mixture is smooth. Pour over fruit mixture with half the rum, stir to combine. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside overnight to soak.
Preheat oven to 150°C. Grease a 20cm cake tin with butter. Line the base and side with 3 layers of baking paper. Use an electric mixer to beat the butter and brown sugar until pale and creamy.
Add eggs, one at a time, until combined. Add to the fruit mixture and stir to combine. Add flour and mixed spice, stir until well combined.
Spoon into the prepared tin and smooth the surface. Tap pan firmly on the bench to settle the mixture. Bake in preheated oven for 3 hours or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
Remove from oven and brush hot cake with remaining rum. Cover with foil. Turn cake upside-down onto a flat clean work surface. Set aside overnight to cool completely.
Place cake on a serving plate. Use a little fondant to fill in any holes in the cake. Brush the top and side of cake with half the jam.
Dust a clean work surface with icing sugar. Knead fondant until smooth. Roll half the fondant out to a 7mm-thick disc, large enough to cover top and side of cake.
Lift fondant onto cake with a rolling pin. Smooth fondant over cake with hands dusted with icing sugar. Use a small sharp knife to trim the edge of excess fondant. Repeat with remaining jam and fondant to cover cake with a second layer.
Decorate with glace clementines and ribbon.
Ummm where are the cooking instructions?
Hi Aimee, thanks for your query the cooking instructions for this recipe are on each picture, as a step-by-step guide. However, we will post the recipe in the text as well should you want to print out. Apologies for any inconvenience, MiNDFOOD team.
No ‘method’ or directions for the Christmas cake above.
I’ll have to make it up as I go along….
Hi muddycreek, thanks for your query the cooking instructions for this recipe are on each picture, as a step-by-step guide. However, we will post the recipe in the text as well should you want to print it out. Apologies for any inconvenience, MiNDFOOD team.
Where are the instructions to make this cake, size of tin, oven temp?
Hi Christine, thanks for your query the cooking instructions for this recipe are on each picture, as a step-by-step guide. However, we will post the recipe in the text as well should you want to print out. Apologies for any inconvenience, MiNDFOOD team.
Christmas cake in pic ,isn’t iced .??