Traditional "boiled" christmas cake

In our family the Christmas cake is made at the beginning of October in two parts. Firstly the fruit is boiled in water and orange juice and allowed to stand for several days (3 minimum) at room temperature before being baked in the traditional way and then stored for Christmas.

Rather than being decorated with marzipan and icing, the cake is finished with a glazed fruit and nut topping.The result is an amazingly dark rich and plump cake that is surprisingly light to eat.

Get the Christmas CD out and begin!

Ingredients

225 g butter

225 g sultanas

225 g raisins

110 g currants

55 g chopped mixed peel

55 g glace cherries, chopped

170 g dried apricots

55 g dried apples

110 g dried dates chopped

110 g dried peaches chopped

110 g dried pears chopped

225 g soft brown sugar

grated zest and juice of 1 lemon

grated zest and juice of 1 orange

110 ml water

110 ml orange juice

110 ml brandy

1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground allspice

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cardamon

2 tablespoons black treacle

5 eggs beaten

300 g plain flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

for the fruit topping

340 g seville marmalade

340 g mixed dried fruit and nuts

With Bing warbling in the background (only joking!) place the butter, sultanas, raisin, currants, mixed peel, cherries, apricots, apples, dates, peaches, pears, sugar, lemon and orange juice and zest, water and orange juice into a large pan. Bring to the boil slowly, stirring with a wooden spoon.Cover with a lid and allow to simmer for 10 minutes, removing from the heat immediately after.

Allow the contents to cool slightly before adding the brandy and spices.  The smell at this stage is just amazing! Stir well and transfer into a large bowl. When completely cold, cover well and leave at room temperature for a minimum of 3 days (I leave mine considerably longer, but 3 is a safe compromise). Don't forget to stir daily!

Now for baking the cake. Pre-heat the oven to 170 C. Take a round 25 cm cake tin and line with a double layer of greased greaseproof paper.

Take the fruit mixture and stir in the treacle and beaten eggs. Sift the flour and the baking powder and stir into the cake mixture. It will appear slightly sloppy, but don't worry! Turn the mixture into the lined cake tin and bake in the middle of the pre-heated oven for about 4 and a half hours. Check to see if the skewer comes out clean, and you know the cake is done.

Now leave the cake to cool in the tin. When completely cold, wrap carefully in kitchen foil and leave to mature in a cool dry place.

On Christmas Eve remove the cake from the foil to add the final touches. Take the seville marmalade, add a tablespoon of water and heat in a saucepan until boiling. Pass through a sieve and allow to cool slightly before brushing generously over the top of the cake. Now arrange the dried fruits and nuts over the cake before applying carefully a second coating of the glaze.

A festive ribbon around the cake adds the final touch, but is not strictly necessary!

Serve on Christmas day, and I can assure you this is one Christmas cake that will not last into the New Year!

Enjoy!

Comments

[Rufus]

Looks very tasty. I should try this one. Thanks for sharing this nice cake recipe. Try to check this out too Personalized Christmas Ornaments

[Signe]

Sounds like a fantastic cake Paul, have never been much of a fan of the traditional Christmas cake as it can be dry and tough but the high fruit content (and not just sultanas but lovely apricots, apples and pears) would make this really moreish. Interesting idea of glazing it with marmelade instead of marzipan, one could also use apricot jam I imagine?

Can see why this wouldn't last into the new year ;)

[Paul]

Thanks Signe, it really remains moist! The original recipe from Leiths uses apricot jam as the glaze but I prefer the more tart marmalade. Incidentally this cake is very good eaten alonside many cheeses, stilton for one!