16
British
Christmas cake
Allergens: Eggs, Gluten, Milk, Nuts, Peanuts, Sulphites
The British Christmas fruit cake: soaked, spiced and marzipan-wrapped.
Ingredients
- Plain flour 200 g
- Lemon
- Butter 200 g
- Eggs 4
- Baking powder 0.5 tsp
- Brown sugar 200 g
- Ground almonds 50 g
- Mixed spice 1.5 tbsp
- Pecans 100 g
- Raisins 250 g
- Vanilla extract 0.5 tsp
- Glacé cherries 85 g
- Mixed peel 85 g
- Rose water 1.5 tbsp
- Sherry 100 ml
Method
- Heat oven to 160C/fan 140C/gas 3.
- Line the base and sides of a 20 cm round, 7.5 cm deep cake tin.
- Beat the butter and sugar with an electric hand mixer for 1-2 mins until very creamy and pale in colour, scraping down the sides of the bowl half way through.
- Stir in a spoonful of the flour, then stir in the beaten egg and the rest of the flour alternately, a quarter at a time, beating well each time with a wooden spoon.
- Stir in the almonds.
- Mix in the sherry (the mix will look curdled), then add the peel, cherries, raisins, cherries, nuts, lemon zest, spice, rosewater and vanilla.
- Beat together to mix, then stir in the baking powder.
- Spoon mixture into the tin and smooth the top, making a slight dip in the centre.
- Bake for 30 mins, then lower temperature to 150C/fan 130C/gas 2 and bake a further 2-2¼ hrs, until a skewer insterted in the middle comes out clean.
- Leave to cool in the tin, then take out of the tin and peel off the lining paper.
- When completely cold, wrap well in cling film and foil to store until ready to decorate.
- The cake will keep for several months.