Ahhh 🎄 Christmas cake—rich, spiced, and packed with tradition. Here’s a classic fruit Christmas cake, moist and full of flavor, the kind that gets better with time.
🎂 Traditional Christmas Cake
Ingredients
Fruit Mix
- 3 cups mixed dried fruit (raisins, currants, sultanas)
- ½ cup chopped dates or prunes
- ½ cup candied peel
- ½ cup chopped nuts (almonds or walnuts)
- ½ cup orange juice or apple juice
(or rum/brandy if you want it traditional)
Cake Batter
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1Âľ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp nutmeg
- ½ tsp allspice
- ½ tsp cloves
- Zest of 1 orange
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Soak the fruit
Mix dried fruit, nuts, and juice/alcohol. Soak at least 2 hours (overnight is even better). - Prep
Preheat oven to 300°F (150°C). Line a cake pan with parchment (important—slow bake). - Cream butter & sugar
Beat until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time. - Combine
Stir in soaked fruit, zest, and vanilla.
Fold in flour, baking powder, and spices. - Bake low & slow
Pour into pan. Bake 2–2½ hours, until a skewer comes out mostly clean. - Cool & store
Cool completely. Wrap tightly.
Optional (but very traditional)
- “Feed” the cake weekly with 1–2 tbsp brandy or rum
- Decorate with marzipan and icing closer to Christmas
Pro Tips
- Low oven temp prevents burning and keeps it moist
- The flavor deepens over days or weeks
- Keeps for weeks wrapped well (months if fed with alcohol)
If you want, I can give you a lighter modern Christmas cake, a no-alcohol version, or a quick last-minute Christmas loaf 🎄✨
