It’s never really too late to make your Christmas cake, though if you’re organised and have done it in October/November you’ve got longer to “feed” it. To be frank, I always have the best of intentions to make one early but never seem to get around to it until the very end of November or sometimes a week or two before the big day.
This version is fruit and booze rich, plus it has the added bonus of warm spices and stem ginger which makes it feel like a good hug alongside a mid-morning coffee.
We’re not big on icing, so when we’re ready to eat it I just glaze it with a spoon or two of apricot jam melted on the stovetop with a teaspoon or two of water. You can put blanched almonds on top for decoration if you like at this point. Sometimes we skip this stage too and just dig in.
Note: when looking for candied peel look out for the best you can find as it really makes a difference and you’ll get great flavours without them being too sweet and confected. This year our friends in Cavistons had whole candied oranges and clementines that we just couldn’t go past.
A warm and spicy Christmas cake
- 200g of the best candied peel you can find
- 800g mixed dried fruit (we used blueberries, raisins and cranberries this year, but quite often have currants in the mix too)
- 150ml dark rum, plus extra to feed
- 250g unsalted butter
- 200g dark muscovado sugar
- 1 orange, zested & juiced
- 1 lemon, zested & juiced
- 175g plain flour
- 125g ground almonds
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp mixed spice
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 5 balls of stem ginger (in syrup), drained and chopped
- 5 medium eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Put the peel and dried fruit into a large saucepan with the rum, butter, sguar and citrus zest and juice. Bring to the boil over a medium heat, then reduce to a simmer and heat until the butter has melted. Leave to cool for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat the oven to 150C/130C fan/Gas 2.
Line a deep 20cm cake tin with a double layer of baking parchment, then wrap a double layer of brown paper (or newspaper) around the outside and secure with string.
Tip the flour, ground almonds, baking powder and spices into the saucepan with the cooled fruit and syrupy liquid, then add the stem ginger, eggs and vanilla. Stir with a wooden spoon until there are no floury bits.
Tip the mixture into the prepared tin, level the top and bake on the middle shelf for 2 hours until cooked through. Remove from the oven, poke holes into the top with a skewer and spoon over 2 tbsp rum, then leave to cool completely in the tin.
When the cake has cooled, peel off the baking parchment, then wrap in fresh parchment and store in an airtight tin. Feed the cake with 1-2 tbsp rum every fortnight, up to four times, but don’t feed it in the final week if you plan on icing or glazing it as you need the surface to be dry.
(Original recipe from BBC Good Food)
Jono & Jules do food & wine 