Michael’s mum’s original Christmas cake recipe

Christmas-cake-scaled
Editor-in-chief Michael McHugh makes his mum's famous fruit cake recipe for Christmas every year. The rich, dense cake is doused in brandy and wrapped in newspaper ready for Christmas day.

453.5g butter

453.5g brown sugar

10 eggs

1361g currants

453.5g sultanas

453.5g seeded raisins

227g mixed peel

227g whole dried cherries ( in a cup cover with brandy overnight)

1 tsp each almond, lemon & vanilla essence

6 tbsp black currant jelly or jam

1 tbsp golden syrup

680g flour

2 tsp nutmeg

0.5 tsp salt

227g blanched almonds

 

Preheat oven to 120 degrees celsius.

Line a 12″ x 12″ cake tin with three – five layers of baking paper.

Cream butter and sugar in an electric mixer until light and fluffy.

Add eggs, one at a time, followed by fruit, black currant jam, golden syrup, essences and lastly flour, spices and salt.

Transfer to prepared cake tin.

Arrange almonds on top in decorative pattern.

Bake for 5 hours.

On removing from oven, piece and pour brand over cake as desired.

Once cooled, wrap in newspaper and store in dark cupboard. To keep moist, drizzle brandy over cake every two weeks until ready to serve.

 

This year, Michael made the cake with his daughter, Dorothy, who made this Instagram reel.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Dotty | NZ Foodie (@dottys.bowl)

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