Serendipity Cake Company Christmas Fruit Cake
Christmas Fruit Cake
Here at Serendipity Cake Company we all love fruit cake, especially this rich and fruity Christmas fruit cake which has been tried tested and tweaked over many years. It was first made as a wedding fruit cake and quickly became THE recipe for all our fruit cake orders. Fruit cake used to be so popular but now the mighty sponge cake has been crowned the King of celebrations and weddings, but I still hold a torch for this traditional rich fruit cake, plump with vine fruit and fabulously moist. Preparing and baking the Christmas cake is the start of Christmas in our house and when it’s baking the aroma of Christmas fills the house.
I love that fruit cake is one of our oldest Christmas traditions in theUK, dating back to the Middle Ages, where dried fruit was a luxury ‘for high days and holidays.’ only. In the 16th century, a fruit cake was baked for Twelfth Night to commemorate the end of the Christmas season.
I make our Christmas cake on ‘Stir Up Sunday’, the last Sunday in Advent, which is traditionally the day that you make Christmas puddings, however it is also exactly the right time to make the cake, allowing for a top up or two of brandy or rum before it is decorated. If you want an alcohol free cake, use apple juice to soak the fruit in but don’t ‘feed’ your cake with apple juice like you do with alcohol after it is baked. Leave it well wrapped up and it will be just as magnificent. Stir up Sunday this year (2023) is Sunday 26 November, but really any time up to the end of the first week in December is fine.
The great thing about Christmas cake is that you will have a lovely moist cake from Christmas day all the way through to New year and beyond, which is a plus especially for all those guests that just pop in.
The decoration of the cake should also be a fun time and to make things easier for you we have a range of simple edible Christmas cake decorations in our online shop they are both elegant and extremely simple to use, all come with instructions and some glitter ribbon in gold, silver or red to compliment your cake topper
So break out the Christmas apron, pop your favourite Christmas playlist on and get baking this gorgeous traditional Christmas fruit cake.
Remember a good Christmas balanced diet is having a slice of fruit cake in each hand.
All that remains for me is to whisk you all A Very Merry Christmas.
Alison x
A few tips and advice before starting baking
- Make sure all your ingredients are at room temperature, including milk, butter and eggs
- Soak your fruit in your liquid of choice (rum, brandy, apple juice) at least 24 hours in advance and if you can for 48 hours, mixing once or twice.
- Buy chopped almonds this saves time
- Do rinse your glacé cherries in boiling water, getting rid of the excess sugar helps keep your cherries evenly distributed in the cake.
- Add glacé ginger if you like the taste and heat of ginger.
- Place your Treacle pot in a bowl of boiling water and place your measuring spoon in the water too, when ready to use dry your spoon and the treacle pot this makes it easier to measure the treacle, it will fall off the spoon with little mess.
A Little information about the Ingredients
As with all my recipes there are some ingredients that make the cake better. I try not to use the ready mixed fruit bags, the individual bags of fruit mean that you get the correct ratio of each fruit to ensure your cake is a masterpiece of juicy plumpness. I always use butter in fruit cake, sometimes stork and baking margarines are better but in this case butter is best.
AuthorAlison TregoningCategoryCakesDifficultyIntermediateThe one and only Serendipity Cake Company rich Christmas Fruit Cake packed with juicy plump vine fruit soaked in brandy, rum or apple juice. This is the only recipe you will ever need for a fruit cake.
24 to 48 hours before baking your cake. measure, quarter and rinse your glacé cherries in boiling water and add to a large bowl, measure out the rest of the fruit ticking them off as you put them in your bowl. Add the brandy, rum or apple juice and mix all the ingredients together with a metal spoon, cover and leave to soak for 24 to 48 hours.
When you are ready to make your cake, grease and line an 8 inch round or 7 inch square cake tin (sides should measure at least 3 inches).
Cut out a double layer of baking parchment in a disc shape to fit over the top of the cake batter, this helps to keep it from over browning the top of the cake. Cut a vent hole in the middle of this baking parchment to let the steam out when baking. I always do this as a circle so it fit snugly on top of the cake batter.
If you have baking belts soak one in water now. If you don't have baking belts cut out 4 layers of brown paper, ensure the length of these are enough to go round the sides of your cake tin, secure these in place with string.
Beat your eggs in a bowl and set aside.
Measure out your flour and spices into a bowl and set aside
Grate your lemon and orange onto a plate. Measure out and chop your almonds and set aside
Place your treacle tin and measuring spoon into a bowl of slightly cooled boiled water. Make sure the lid is on tight.
Set oven to 140°c or Fan 130°c
Beat the butter and sugar together really well, the consistency should be soft and pale and falls easily from a spoon.
Add the eggs slowly beating really well in between additions, your mixture shouldn't curdle but if it does add 1 Tblsp of flour from your pre weighed flour and spice mix.
Fold in your flour carefully with a metal spoon in a figure of eight. This will ensure you retain as much air in the batter as possible.
Add the lemon and orange rind, chopped almonds and treacle and fold into your mixture with a metal spoon
Add your pre soaked fruit to the batter and fold in well, making sure you go all the way to the bottom of your bowl.
Add your fruit cake batter to your cake tin and smooth the surface so it is flat, put your pre cut parchment discs over the top of your cake batter so they fit snugly.
If you have a baking belt secure this around the side of your cake tin, if you are using brown paper make sure it is securely fitted around the side of the tin with string
Place in the centre of your oven.
All ovens are different and it's worth checking your cake after 3 hours. Place a skewer into the cake and if it comes out clean, your cake is ready. Leave in the tin for 30 mins then cool and wrap up in parchment and foil.
Feed your cake twice before you decorate with rum or brandy, re wrapping carefully.
Ingredients
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