A little Christmas magic, baked with love

The complete recipe, festive stories and shopping listMy Traditional Christmas Cake

Ingredients

• 8 oz (2 cups) sultanas (golden raisins)

• 6 oz (1 cup) large raisins (Muscat)

• 10 oz (2 cups) currants

• 8 oz (2 cups) raisins

• 3 tbsp rum, brandy or whisky, or the juice of one orange if avoiding alcohol

• 10 oz plain flour (all-purpose flour)

• 1/2 tsp nutmeg (freshly grated, if possible)

• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

• 1/8 tsp allspice

• 1/4 tsp ground ginger

· Large pinch of salt and pepper

• 4 oz (1/2 cup) cherries

• 2 oz (1/2 cup) ground almonds

• 8 oz muscovado sugar

• 8 oz butter

• 6 jumbo eggs

• 1 tbsp treacle (molasses)

• Juice and zest of one orange

You can also add candied peel or angelica if you wish, but we don’t. Simply substitute an equal weight

for some of the fruit in the recipe.

A Little Christmas Magic

Well, here we go! Isn’t this exciting?

I absolutely love this time of year. You know that summer is nearly over and Christmas is just around

the corner. For all those people who don’t like Christmas, what a shame! But we certainly do.

I must admit, though, I’ve never made Christmas cakes wearing shorts in temperatures of 80°F (27°C),

so to get myself into the Christmas spirit, I’ve turned up the air conditioning!

You don’t find many houses with air conditioning in England, so be prepared if you’re planning a visit!

By the end of August, though, you’ll certainly know that winter is on its way, and you’ll feel like making

Christmas cakes just to keep warm.

Anyway, enough chatting. Let’s get started!

The Night Before

The night before you’re going to make your Christmas cake, weigh all the dried fruit into a large bowl.

Christmas Cake • Page 1Add the rum, brandy or whisky, or, if you’re not using alcohol, squeeze the orange juice over the top.

Mix everything together thoroughly and cover with cling film (plastic wrap).

I always think it’s a good idea to weigh out the flour and sift it together with the spices into another bowl.

Cover with a clean tea towel (dishcloth).

Leave your eggs, treacle (molasses), cherries, butter, almonds and sugar on the worktop (counter),

ready for the following day.

Speaking of almonds, my children don’t like chunks of nuts in their cakes, which is why I grind mine.

You can leave them whole or chop them to your liking. I always buy whole almonds and grind them

myself in a coffee grinder or herb grinder. That way, you can have them exactly how you like them.

At this point, I also line my cake tin, preferably a 9-inch round tin, with two layers of greaseproof paper

or baking parchment. I stick the paper to the tin using a little olive oil, spread around with a pastry

brush.

And that’s the preparation done for the night before!

The Big Baking Day!

The next morning, get the children off to school and prepare to make your cake.

First, I… oh yes, first I put the cat out! Our cat absolutely adores butter, and whenever I’m cooking with

it, she’s forever trying to jump onto the worktop. Not terribly hygienic, is it?

Now, I know this might sound a little soppy, but I always put on some Christmas music to get myself

into the festive spirit. Well, you need something to get you into the Christmas mood, especially if you’ve

already been dipping into the liqueur bottle!

Now it’s time to create!

Start by creaming together the butter and sugar. This takes a good five minutes with an electric hand

mixer. Don’t scrimp on this part. The mixture needs to be really light and creamy. Halfway through, take

a spatula and scrape everything back into the centre of the bowl, then continue beating until beautifully

light and fluffy.

Once you’re happy with the mixture, begin adding the beaten eggs, a little at a time. If you wish, do

what I do and add a dessertspoonful of flour from your already measured amount as you add the eggs.

Keep alternating until all the eggs have been incorporated. Don’t worry if the mixture looks a little

curdled. It’ll be perfectly all right!

Now add the remaining flour, but don’t beat it in. Instead, fold it through very carefully. You don’t want to

knock out all that lovely air you’ve worked so hard to create.

Next, squeeze the orange juice into your soaked fruit and add the zest. Give everything a good stir,

then add the fruit to your cake mixture, about a quarter at a time, making sure all the fruit is thoroughly

coated.

Add the cherries, treacle (molasses) and almonds. Stir everything together gently but thoroughly. I use

a sort of figure-of-eight motion, which helps combine everything without being too heavy-handed.

By now, your kitchen should smell absolutely delicious! The mixture should look smooth and have a

lovely, thick, dropping consistency.

Christmas Cake • Page 2Before going any further, I always recommend going back through the ingredients list and ticking

everything off. There’s nothing worse than discovering you’ve forgotten something after the cake has

gone into the oven!

Into the Oven

Spoon your beautiful mixture into the prepared cake tin and smooth the top until it’s nice and flat. Then,

using the back of a spoon, make a small dip in the centre. This helps the cake rise more evenly, so

hopefully you’ll end up with a lovely, level top. Of course, if you’re planning to ice your cake, it doesn’t

matter quite so much.

Wrap a piece of brown paper around the outside of the cake tin, making sure it extends approximately

four inches above the top of the tin, and secure it with string. This helps protect the cake from burning

during its long, slow bake.

Place two layers of greaseproof paper over the top of the cake for extra protection.

Bake in the oven for approximately five hours at 200°F (93°C), as stated in my original recipe. After five

hours, check the cake. Press the top very gently. If it springs back, insert a skewer into the centre. If the

skewer comes out clean and dry, your cake is ready. If not, give it a little longer and check again.

When it’s cooked, carefully turn the cake out onto a wire rack. Be very gentle, as it’s both heavy and

delicate. Remove the paper and leave the cake to cool completely.

Feeding and Maturing Your Christmas Cake

Once your cake is completely cold, spoon over a little more of whichever spirit you’ve chosen.

Wrap it tightly in two layers of greaseproof paper, followed by two layers of cling film (plastic wrap), and

finally two layers of tin foil (aluminium foil).

I always stick a label on mine, noting which spirit I’ve used and the date it was last fed. That way, I

know exactly when it’s due for another little tipple!

I feed my Christmas cakes at least every two weeks until it’s time to cover them with almond paste and

icing, usually about two weeks before Christmas.

And there you have it! As you can see, anyone can make a Christmas cake. If I can do it, you certainly

can!

I really hope you enjoy making yours, and perhaps next year you’ll do what I do and make a few extra

for family and friends. There’s something so lovely about giving someone a homemade Christmas

cake, made with a little time, patience and a whole lot of love.

Oh, and one last thing… You can let the cat back in now! Poor thing must be absolutely frozen if you’re

in England by this point!

Happy Christmas baking!

Baking note: The original recipe states 200°F (93°C), which is unusually low for this kind of cake.

Please verify the intended oven temperature before baking. The original alcohol measures also conflict;

this version uses 3 tablespoons.

Christmas Cake • Page 3Christmas Cake Shopping List

For one lovely, rich 9-inch Christmas cake. Tick things off as you shop!

Dried Fruit

■ 225g sultanas

■ 170g large Muscat raisins

■ 285g currants

■ 225g raisins

■ 115g glacé cherries

Baking Ingredients

■ 285g plain flour

■ 225g dark muscovado sugar

■ 225g butter

■ 55g ground almonds

■ 6 jumbo eggs

■ 1 tbsp black treacle

Spices

■ ½ tsp nutmeg (preferably fresh)

■ ½ tsp ground cinnamon

■ ■ tsp ground allspice

■ ¼ tsp ground ginger

Fruit & Spirits

■ 1 large orange (juice and zest)

■ Rum, brandy or whisky (for soaking and feeding)

Cake Preparation & Storage

■ Greaseproof paper or baking parchment

■ Brown paper and kitchen string

■ Cling film

■ Kitchen foil

■ 9-inch round cake tin (if needed)

■ Candied peel or angelica

Optional

■ Marzipan and icing for decorating

· Large pinch of salt and pepper

And perhaps a tiny glass for the chef!