Freya’s Christmas Cake

I once had a go at the traditional English Christmas pud (boiled in a cloth) and failed spectaturlarly. So I made my own recipe for a Christmas cake to my taste and oven.It has turned out to be very popular with friends and family over several years now.

 

Ingredients

250 g raisins

150 g currants

200 g candied orange peel

200 g chopped, dried apricots

100 g chopped dark chocolate (preferably 70%)

1 packet of mixed spice (or 1 tsp ground cloves, 1 tsp ground allspice, and 1 tsp ground ginger)

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp grated nutmeg

100 g chopped almonds

100 g chopped hazelnuts

100 ml whisky or dark rum – plus extra

250 g softened butter (leave out overnight, and use the butter wrapper to grease the baking tin)

200 g dark muscovado sugar (check for any hard lumps by pressing with your fingers)

4 small eggs or 3 large ones

200 g plain flour (not self-rising)

 

Icing

1 packet of icing sugar – 500 g – mixed with lemon juice (no water)

 

Instructions

Combine the raisins and currants with the whisky or rum in an airtight container and leave overnight to soak.

 

Chop the chocolate and apricots.

Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.

Beat in the eggs, one at a time.

Add the flour, spices, and nuts.

Mix in the soaked fruits along with their liquid.

You’ll need a large bowl and some determination – avoid using a hand mixer as the mixture is very heavy. A stand mixer can be used, starting with the whisk before switching to the dough hook when adding the flour.

Pour the mixture into a greased baking tin (a 22 x 30 cm foil tray works well). The batter can reach the edges as it won’t rise. Bake in the centre of the oven at 175°C (top and bottom heat, no fan) for about 45 minutes.

While still warm, generously pour over more whisky or rum. Let it sit until lukewarm.

Flip the cake onto a cutting board so it’s bottom-side up, then pour over another generous splash of whisky or rum. Repeat once or twice, ensuring it soaks in well (you should be able to smell the alcohol).

Spread a fairly runny icing over the cake evenly to avoid damage.

Once fully cooled, cut the cake into squares with a very sharp knife. Store in an airtight container(s) in the fridge. To keep it moist, pour a little more whisky or rum into the bottom of the container for the cake to absorb. Repeat until the cake stops absorbing the liquid.

Note!

This is a rich, adult cake inspired by English Christmas pudding, but do not set fire to it.

The cake improves with time, so leave it in the fridge for a few days to a week before serving.

It keeps well if left, but you might struggle to resist eating it too soon.

The calorie count is through the roof, so don’t count. Possibly enough for a family of 10 for about a week.

Just an extra little bit of advice. When you bake – make sure to be alone. When it comes to licking the bowl, you will not be inclined to share. Rather to be not too vigorous with the scaping when putting the mix in the tin. This allows for some quality time when the cake is in the oven. Your favourite brew, a teaspoon and the bowl. Just for you. Needing the calories obviously after some had mixing.

 

Download PDF recipe if you need to print.