Christmas Cake

This recipe originally came from my grandmother - a tough country lady. Then I got to it!
I make this cake in October, then "water" it in November, and sometimes in December, too.

Ingredients

250g sultanas
250g raisins
250g currants
100g dried apricots, diced
100g glace cherries
100g dried pineapple, diced
50g dates, quartered
100g walnuts
½ cup sherry or brandy
½ cup rum

 

250g butter
250g brown sugar
5 eggs
1 tsp parisian essence
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp glycerine
1 tbs golden syrup
1 tbs jam
2 ½ cups plain flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg

Christmas cake

Method

  1. Mix the fruit, nuts and sherry and rum in a large bowl. Cover and allow to stand overnight.
  2. Preheat the oven to 140 oC. Line a 25cm square tin with at least 3 layers of baking paper, to reduce burning. Make sure that the paper is at least as high as the tin.
  3. Cream the butter and sugar, then add the eggs and beat well.
  4. Add the essences and spices, glycerine, golden syrup and jam.
  5. Fold the flour alternately with the fruit into the mixture.
  6. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 2 ½ hours.
  7. Drizzle 1/2 cup sherry over the cake when it is removed from the oven.
  8. When cold, wrap in several lavers of cling wrap so it can be opened later, and store in an airtight container.
  9. Each month before it is eaten, drizzle more sherry over the cake.

Optional:

The fruit and alcohol content are very flexible. Add more fruit or sherry if you want!
Use orange juice instead if you prefer. It will only keep for a few weeks, as the sherry usually acts as a preservative.
Add 50g slivered almonds with the fruit. Make a pattern on the top of the cake with almonds before baking.
Replace the pineapple with citrus peel.

Gluten-Free: Substitute gluten-free flour.

Dairy-Free: Use dairy-free margarine.


 

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