Christmas Fruit Cake

03/11/2023 by thebakingexplorer 33 Comments

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A Christmas Fruit Cake is such a classic and traditional bake for the festive season. It's a rich, fruit packed cake, soaked with brandy and it's so flavoursome and moist! While I have called this a Christmas Fruit Cake, you can make it any time of year, for example this would be great for a wedding cake or other celebration cake. A lot of people see fruit cake as hard to make, but it really isn't. It does take a long time to bake, but besides that, the process is really easy and straightforward.

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Ingredient Tips & Equipment Information

Make sure all your ingredients (particularly the butter and eggs) are at room temperature before you start baking.
I used dark brown soft sugar for this cake, as it helps to give it that rich caramel colour and flavour. You can also use light brown soft sugar, or a dark muscovado sugar. If you use a white sugar like caster sugar, your cake will be a lot lighter in colour, and not have that richer caramel flavour. You can combat this by adding some black treacle.
For soaking the fruit, I used brandy, cointreau and kirsch for a divine mix of flavour. You can use any alcohol you prefer. Sherry is a popular choice, as are whisky and dark rum. If you don't want to use alcohol, then soak in cold tea instead. You can also use fruit juice, but bare in mind that this will shorten the shelf life of your cake.
You can also customise the fruit you add to this cake. I used a mix of sultanas, raisins, cranberries, apricots and mixed peel. If you don't like mixed peel, leave it out and just add more of the fruit you do like so the weight is the same.
Mixed spice is a British spice blend containing cinnamon, coriander seed, nutmeg, clove, pimento, and ground ginger. If you can't get hold of it where you're based, you can use a Pumpkin Spice mix instead or add extra cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and ground cloves.
Although I provide cup measurements, I highly recommend weighing your ingredients out using digital kitchen scales. It is the most accurate way to measure ingredients and will ensure the best results. Digital scales are very low cost and can be purchased for around £12 ($16.50).
For teaspoon (tsp) and tablespoon (tbsp) measurements, please use measuring spoons and not the type of spoons you eat with. Again this will ensure accuracy and provide the best results.

For the full recipe with measurements, head to the recipe card at the end of this post.

How to make Christmas Fruit Cake

Start by putting all of the dried fruit into a bowl. You don't have to add the mixed peel, but if you're using a bag of mixed dried fruit like I did, then obviously you don't need to separate it! Add the alcohol and mix in. Cover the bowl and leave overnight, or for 24 hours, for the alcohol to absorb and the fruit to plump up.

To double line the tin, grease the inside with a little butter. Put a circle of baking paper on the bottom. Fold a large piece of baking paper in half that fits inside the tin. Then fold a piece of baking paper in half that fits around the outside of the tin. Aim for them to have an overhang of at least 2". Secure the baking paper on the outside of the tin with string or metal clips.

To make the cake, mix the softened butter or baking spread and dark brown soft sugar together. Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix in well. Then gently mix in the plain flour, ground almonds, baking powder, mixed spice, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Finally fold in the glace cherries and the soaked dried fruit.

Add the batter into the cake tin and smooth the top out into an even layer. Bake for 3 ½ hours, or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Poke the top all over with a thin skewer and drizzle the brandy over the top while the cake is still warm. Leave to cool completely. Wrap the cake in baking paper and foil, open it up every 1-2 weeks and feed with 1 tbsp brandy in the run up to Christmas.

For the full recipe with measurements, head to the recipe card at the end of this post.

How long before Christmas should you make this cake?

Opinions vary on how far in advance a Christmas cake should be made before the big day. I've seen anything from as long as 12 weeks before, to a little as 6 weeks. Frankly I don't start thinking about Christmas until November hits, so for me, somewhere between 6-8 weeks is about right.

What kind of fruit goes in a Christmas Cake?

For this recipe I have used a mixture of sultanas, raisins, cranberries, apricots and mixed peel. To save on cost, I bought bags of ready mixed fruit from the supermarket. You can of course buy the different dried fruits separately if you prefer, especially if you aren't a fan of mixed peel for example. Just make sure the total weight of the dried fruit you use is 850g.

What is the best alcohol to use in a Christmas Cake?

There are so many options depending on your preference. You can use brandy, sherry, dark rum, madeira, sloe gin, amaretto, bourbon or whisky. I also added a bit of cointreau and kirsch when soaking my fruit for extra flavour (it smelt incredible!). So feel free to use a combination of complimentary spirits too.

Can you make this cake without alcohol?

Yes, if you need to avoid alcohol, or you just don't like the taste, you can soak the fruit in cold tea or fruit juice (apple, cranberry or orange are best). Please be aware that a Christmas Fruit Cake without alcohol will have a much shorter shelf life. It will last about one week, but could last longer, or it can be frozen for up to 6 months. You also do not need to feed an alcohol free Christmas cake.

How often should you feed a Christmas Cake?

Feeding a fruit cake is the process of unwrapping it and drizzling the top with alcohol, covering it back up, then doing the same thing every 1-2 weeks in the run up to Christmas. I fed this cake once a week with 1 tbsp brandy. You may prefer to feed it every 2 weeks. This part really is up to you and depends how boozy of a cake you'd like.

How can you decorate a Christmas Fruit Cake?

There are a few ways to do this, the most traditional would be to cover it in a layer of marzipan, followed by a layer of fondant icing. Instead of fondant icing, you can use royal icing. For a more simple decoration, you can simply dust it with icing sugar. Or, you can arrange whole blanched almonds on top of the cake batter in a pretty pattern before it goes in to bake.

How long does the Christmas Fruit Cake last for and can you freeze it?

The cake will keep in an airtight container for 10 weeks in a cool place. You can freeze the cake, well wrapped, for up to a year. You can also freeze slices of the cake, again well wrapped in cling film and foil, or in airtight containers.

Can this cake be made in a different size cake tin?

Yes! If you would like to make this cake in a different size tin, please check my Conversion Guide to find out how to adjust the recipe.

Can this cake be made gluten free?

Yes! For gluten free you can replace the plain flour with a gluten free plain flour blend. You may also like to add xanthan gum for better texture. Please do check the labels for everything you use to make the cake if you are serving it to someone with an allergy or intolerance.

Can this cake be made dairy free?

To make this cake dairy free, I recommend replacing the butter with Flora Plant or the Stork Baking Block, as they give the best texture. Please do check the labels for everything you use to make the cake if you are serving it to someone with an allergy or intolerance.

Can this cake be made nut free?

Yes, just replace the ground almonds for the same weight of plain flour. Please do check the labels for everything you use to make the cake if you are serving it to someone with an allergy or intolerance.

Do you need an electric mixer to make this recipe?

While you can absolutely make this recipe with a wooden spoon and some elbow grease, I do recommend using an electric mixer for the best results. The cake will have better texture when made with an electric mixer. You don't have to use an expensive stand mixer either, you can get electric hand whisks for as little as £10!

More tips for making the Christmas Fruit Cake:

You can add orange and/or lemon zest to this cake recipe if you like.
You can serve the cake with brandy cream, custard or even cheese!

Troubleshooting

My number one tip for getting the best results is to read through this whole page of tips and recommendations before starting, and follow the recipe exactly. If you have any questions about this recipe, or if something went wrong and you need help, please use the comment form below and I will get back to you. You can also get in touch with me on my Twitter, Instagram or Facebook. I'd love to hear from you!

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