LAST MINUTE CHRISTMAS CAKE
I’ve never made a traditional Christmas cake before, so this was quite the baking experience for me. I guess I really didn’t care for them till my husband started buying them. I think I have learned to like them.
So while having some store bought cake and tea Sunday afternoon, I decided I must be able to make a better Christmas cake. And at the last minute! When I was searching the world wide web, the only recipes I liked were from the UK. So no ‘cup’ measurements; I was going to bake by weight.
I was tasting the dough as I made the cake and was really afraid it was going to be sickly sweet. I did cut down the brown sugar and the honey. Ohhh... I was not thinking this was going to be good. Then when I added the beer to the batter, it took that super sweet taste away. I used a pilsner from a craft brewery - not my favorite kind of beer at all. But it did the trick. I know beer in your Christmas cake! Yes you do expect Christmas cake to be sweet but not super sweet - or you don’t want it to be. A hoppy IPA would work too.
It probably took me a couple of hours total to make the cake (not including the baking). I wasn’t in a hurry though. I prepped the dried fruit the night before so it could soak in the brandy. The next day it was just a matter of making sure the butter and eggs were at room temperature and everything was ready to go.
This recipe is adapted from www.cottagesmallholder.com
To make a 9 inch round cake (4” deep).
LAST MINUTE CHRISTMAS CAKE
Prep Time: 2 hrs
Cook Time: 2 hrs
Keywords: bake Christmas cake winter
Ingredients
- 423g chopped dates, apricots, craisins and cherries (approx 113g of each or your combination)
- 356g raisins
- 137g currants
- 50 ml brandy & 2 tbsp hot water to pour over and soak overnight. Mix now and again to distribute the liquid. Pour into a strainer and drain any liquid before using.
- 281g butter, room temperature
- 200g soft brown sugar (golden)
- 7 eggs, room temperature
- 356g white flour, sifted
- 1 ½ lemon zest
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp each of nutmeg & mace
- ¼ tsp each of ginger, cardamom & cloves
- 138g ground almonds
- 1 tbsp of runny light colored honey
- 250 ml of beer (pilsner or IPA)
- 113g whole pecans
- 225g glacé cherries, cut in half
- 75 - 125ml brandy to feed the cake after it has cooled
Instructions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees fahrenheit.
Line the base and sides of the 9″ cake tin with a double thickness of baking parchment and approximately 1 ½ inches above the rim.
Using a beater, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy
Add 1 egg at a time, beating well between each egg.
Using a spatula, gently fold in the flour, lemon zest and spices.
Fold in the beer and honey and stir gently until well blended.
Add the fruit and ground almonds and stir gently.
Transfer the mixture to the lined cake tin. Make a hollow in the centre of the mixture approximately 2″ wide and 1″ deep.
Bake in the centre of a preheated oven for about 2 hours. Depending on your oven, it may need a little longer.
Rotate the cake every ½ hour - of course this depends on your oven too.
Check that it is cooked by inserting a skewer into the middle – this should be clean when removed. The centre should feel firm and spring back when touched. If the cake starts to get to brown, cover with a piece of parchment paper.
Turn out onto a wire rack. When it is cold, make a few holes in the top and bottom of the cake (using a skewer) and feed the cake with the 75 to 125 mls of brandy.
Wrap the cake in parchment paper and store in an airtight container or cover with foil until you need it.