Classic Christmas Cake

Classic Christmas cake recipe

Ingredients

Cake

50g Dried Mixed Fruit

60g glace cherries

85ml cooking brandy or cold tea

zest and juice of 1 orange

zest of 1 lemon

175g butter

175g dark brown sugar

3 eggs

175g self-raising flour

50g ground almonds

60g whole almonds, walnuts or pecans (optional)

1tsp ground mixed spice

Icing

1 egg white

350g icing sugar

1tsp lemon juice

Method

Remove zest from orange and lemon with a fine grater, and squeeze the juices. Put all zest and juice in a bowl with mixed dried fruit and glace cherries. Add the brandy or tea, cover with cling film and soak for a minimum of one hour or overnight.

Pre-heat the oven to 150°C, Gas Mark 3.

Grease and line a 20cm cake tin, preferably with a removable base.

With an electric mixer, beat the butter with the sugar and black treacle until paler and fluffy. Gradually add the eggs, beating each one in thoroughly before adding the next one. In another bowl, combine the flour, ground almonds and mixed spice and stir to mix thoroughly. Then add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, and fold in gently until thoroughly combined.

Add the soaked fruit and all the juices, plus the nuts if liked. Fold gently together until the ingredients are thoroughly combined. Turn the mixture into your prepared cake tin and flatten the surface. Place in the centre of the oven, and bake for 2 hours or until golden brown and springy to the touch. Use a sharp knife or skewer to test the cake. If there is still wet mixture on the blade, bake for another 20-30 minutes. It should come out clean.

When the cake is cooked, cool for an hour in the tin and then turn out onto a wire rack. You can pierce the cake all over with a skewer and add another tbsp brandy to soak in if liked.

To make the icing, beat the sifted icing sugar with the egg white and lemon juice until glossy. Spread over the cake with a palette knife, forming soft peaks to look like snow drifts. Decorate with edible silver balls or other decorations.