Traditional Christmas Cake
A rich, dark fruit cake baked weeks ahead and fed with brandy until Christmas.
AI assistance: the introduction, ingredient list, method, tips and FAQ on this page were drafted with an AI writing tool, working from long-established traditional methods. Named editor who reviewed it: owner to supply How we work
- Prep
- 40 min
- Cook
- 3 hr 30 min
- Total
- 4 hr 30 min
- Makes
- one 20 cm deep cake
- Difficulty
- Involved
- Course
- Cake
- Cuisine
- British
A traditional British Christmas cake is baked in October or November and "fed" with a little brandy every week or two, which matures the flavour and keeps it moist. It is then covered in marzipan and icing a few days before Christmas.
Ingredients
Cups use the King Arthur Baking ingredient weight chart. Weighing is more accurate.
Soaked fruit (start the day before)
- 1 kg mixed dried fruit
- 100 g glacé cherries, halved
- 150 ml brandy, plus extra for feeding
- 1 orange, zest and juice
Cake
- 250 g unsalted butter, softened
- 200 g dark muscovado sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1 tbsp black treacle (US: molasses)
- 250 g plain flour (US: all-purpose flour)
- 1 tsp mixed spice
- 100 g ground almonds
Equipment
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- 20 cm deep round cake tinHow to chooseShop on Amazon(affiliate link, opens in a new tab)
- Electric hand or stand mixerHow to chooseShop on Amazon(affiliate link, opens in a new tab)
- Digital kitchen scalesHow to chooseShop on Amazon(affiliate link, opens in a new tab)
Method
- 1
The day before, mix the dried fruit, cherries, brandy and orange zest and juice. Cover and leave overnight.
- 2
Heat the oven to 150°C / 130°C fan / gas 2 / 300°F. Double-line a 20 cm deep round tin with baking paper, letting it stand 5 cm above the rim. Wrap the outside with a double layer of brown paper tied with string.
- 3
Beat the butter and sugar until creamy, then beat in the eggs one at a time and stir in the treacle.
- 4
Fold in the flour, spice and ground almonds, then the soaked fruit with any liquid.
- 5
Spoon into the tin, level the top and make a slight hollow in the centre.
- 6
Bake for 3–3½ hours, until a skewer pushed into the centre comes out clean. Cover the top with foil if it browns too quickly.
- 7
Cool completely in the tin. Prick all over, spoon over 2 tbsp brandy, then wrap in baking paper and foil.
- 8
Store somewhere cool and feed with 1–2 tbsp brandy every one to two weeks until you ice it.
Using a different tin? Change "Your tin" and the ingredient quantities above update automatically.
Convert tin sizes
Multiply every ingredient by
1.00
Enter tin sizes between 5 and 60 cm.
Frequently asked questions
How far ahead should I make a Christmas cake?
Many people bake it 6–8 weeks ahead and "feed" it with a little brandy every week or two.
Can I make it without alcohol?
Yes. Soak the fruit in orange juice or cold tea instead, and skip the feeding. It will not keep as long, so make it nearer the time.
How do I stop the cake burning on top during the long bake?
Wrap the outside of the tin in brown paper and lay a sheet of baking paper over the top for the last part of the bake.
Guides for this recipe
Some of these guides contain shop links, which are affiliate links (disclosure).
Buying guide
Sieves and Flour Sifters: Do You Need Both?
Buying guide
Palette Knives for Icing and Baking
Buying guide
Oven Thermometers: Why Your Dial May Be Wrong
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Pudding Basins for Steamed Puddings
Buying guide
Kitchen Timers: Wind-Up or Digital?
Buying guide
Springform and Deep Cake Tins: A Guide
Buying guide
Cake Turntables: The Secret to Smoothly Iced Cakes
Buying guide
How to Choose Sandwich Tins for Victoria Sponge
How-to
Essential Equipment for British Baking
Buying guide
Kitchen Scales for Baking: What to Look For
Buying guide
Hand Mixers: A Buyer's Guide
Buying guide
Baking Trays and Bun Tins: What You Need
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Card photos: Two stainless steel flour sifters, Shliphmash via Wikimedia Commons, Public domain; A set of small steel palette knives, Original uploader was IYY at en.wikipedia via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped; An oven thermometer hanging on an oven shelf, Veganbaking.net from USA via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0, cropped; White ceramic pudding basins, RLiverpool2021 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped; A wind-up kitchen timer, Retro00064 via Wikimedia Commons, Public domain; A strawberry pie in a springform tin, W.carter via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0, cropped; A pastry cook icing a cake on a turntable, Serge Melki from Indianapolis, USA via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0, cropped; A round, deep cake tin, Douglas P Perkins via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0, cropped; Small cakes cooling on a wire rack, James Petts from London, England via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0, cropped; A traditional mechanical kitchen scale, Berthold Werner via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped; An electric hand mixer resting on a kitchen worktop, Santeri Viinamäki via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped; Mince pies baked in a bun tray, Jeremy Keith via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0, cropped; A beef Wellington cut open to show the pink fillet inside golden pastry, Parkerman & Christie from San Diego, USA via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0, cropped; A black bun cut open to show the dense, dark fruit filling inside its pastry case, IMBJR via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped; A brandy snap filled with cream on a plate of sauce, Pauline Mak via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0, cropped. All credits: image credits.