My Favourite Christmas Cake

Hope everyone had a great Christmas. The Christmas cake I baked this year was my favourite yet, and so I thought I'd share my recipe :) I baked this about 4 weeks before Christmas, and it was packed full of flavour and super moist.

I covered the cake with a layer of marzipan and fondant icing, and then attempted to make a Santa and snowballs :)

Makes one 20cm cake

Ingredients:

For the cake mix:

• 200g plain flour
• 1 tbsp ground almonds
• 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 tsp mixed spice
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 150g butter/margarine softened
• 120g soft dark brown sugar
• Finely grated zest of one orange
• Finely grated zest of one lemon
• 15g black treacle
• 25g fine-cut marmalade
• 3 eggs
• 45ml (3 tbsp) brandy
• 25ml dark rum

For the fruit mix:

• 140g dried currants
• 380g sultanas
• 100g dried apricots, roughly chopped
• 95g chopped dried dates, roughly chopped
• 75g dried prunes, roughly chopped
• 75g glace cherries - halved
• 100g mixed peel
• 75ml dark rum
• 75ml brandy

Method:

1. 24 hours prior to baking, soak all of the dried fruits in 75ml of rum and 75ml brandy. Cover and leave at room temperature until ready to bake.

2. Preheat your oven to 160c (140c fan)/320f/gas mark 3. Grease and line the base and sides of a 20cm cake tin with two layers of greaseproof paper.

3. Sift together the plain flour, ground almonds, bicarbonate of soda, spices and salt.

4. Cream together the butter and sugar with the lemon and orange zest until light and fluffy. 

5. Add the treacle and marmalade and beat again to combine. 

6. Beat in 2 of the eggs with a tablespoon of the flour mixture, followed by the rest of the flour mixture. Mix until just combined, and then fold in the soaked fruit mixture.

7. Fold in the remaining egg, and then pour into the prepared cake tin. Bake for between 2 and 2.5 hours, until firm to the touch and a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.

8. As soon as the cake is out of the oven, brush the rum and brandy all over the surface of the cake and leave to cool. Once completely cool, wrap in cling film/place in an airtight container until ready to decorate.

9. Enjoy!