How To Make a Traditional Christmas Cake

It's official - we've only got one month until Christmas! That means, if you haven't already, you better get on and make a Christmas Cake. If you've never made one before it can seem daunting but actually it is very simple, it just takes time. 

Christmas Cake recipes come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, but fundamentally they are all the same - a rich and densely fruity cake. You can find a recipe to suit you and adjust it to your tastes by adding different spices, adding or leaving out nuts, and changing around the dried fruits. This is a family recipe, written by my Great Aunt Nell. It is probably 100 years old or more so it is very much a traditional recipe.

The method I like to use to make my Christmas cake is simple. 

Weigh all the dried fruits, nuts and other extra ingredients like citrus zest. Then make the cake batter by creaming the butter, and sugar, then adding the eggs and the flour and spices. 

Then simply mix the two together. You will need a really big bowl! We use our old TG Green ceramic mixing bowl and it is traditional to get all the family to give it a good stir. 

Next prepare your tin. I like to use a springform (not very traditional I know, but some modernity comes in very handy!) I line it with greasproof and wrap the outside several layers of brown paper. This is to help it to cook more evenly and not burn in the long cooking time. Pour your batter in and then pop in the oven for the required cooking time at the temperature suggested in your recipe. You may find yours takes a shorter time or even longer than the recipes suggests. Mine took 2 hours 45 mins at 160ºC. A cake tester should come out clean when you test the centre of the cake, the top should also hold its shape when you press it with a fingertip. 

Leave it for around half an hour to cool in the tin. 

And then turn it out onto a wire rack to cool completely, before storing wrapped in paper in an airtight tin. You can see mine isn't perfect looking, but you once it is covered in icing it will look fab! It smells completely delicious. One other tip I recommend is cooking a mini version at the same time so you can try some right away without having to wait until Christmas! Sneaky, perhaps, but it saves the big cake from being nibbled! 

So there you have it, my traditional Christmas cake from a vintage recipe. Have you made yours yet? What recipe did you go for? 

Check back in a few weeks for some vintage Christmas cake decorating inspiration. 

Sophie x