Traditional Christmas Cake Recipe

Recipe Ingredients

225g (8 oz) plain flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon mixed spice
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
200g (7 oz) butter
200g (7 oz) dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons black treacle
1 tablespoon marmalade
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 eggs, lightly beaten
800g (1 3/4 lb) mixed dried fruit
90g (3 1/2 oz) chopped mixed peel
150g (5 oz) glace cherries, halved

To decorate:

200g (7 oz) marzipan
1-2 tablespoons apricot jam, warmed

Royal icing:
3 egg whites
550g (1 lb 5 oz) icing sugar, sifted
2 teaspoons liquid glycerine - optional
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Recipe Method

Heat the oven to 150 C / Gas 2. Grease a 20cm round or 18cm square cake tin and line the bottom and sides with baking parchment.
Sift the flour, salt, mixed spice and cinnamon into a bowl.
Cream the butter and the sugar in a large mixing bowl and then mix in the treacle, marmalade and vanilla extract until light and fluffy.
Mix the eggs one at a time into the mixture adding a tablespoon of flour mixture with the last one. Fold in the remaining flour mixture until well mixed and then mix in the dried fruit, mixed peel, glace cherries and almonds.
Turn the mixture into the prepared tin and make a slight hollow in the centre.
Bake in the oven for 3 hours and then test with a skewer. If the skewer doesn't come out clean, bake for up to another hour testing every 20 minutes until the skewer comes out clean.
Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for 15 minutes.
Turn out on to a wire rack and leave to cool.
Store the cake wrapped in foil and in an airtight tin or plastic container,
To decorate the cake: Place the cake on a foil board or cake plate. Dust your hands and the work surface with a little icing sugar and knead the marzipan until soft.
Roll out half the marzipan to fit the top of the cake and roll out the rest in strips to fit around the sides of the cake.
Brush the cake all over with the warmed apricot jam and then place the marzipan on top and around the cake.
Cover the cake with a clean tea towel and then leave in a cool place for at least one day.
To make the royal icing: Lightly whisk the egg whites adding the sugar at intervals. Beat well until the icing reaches soft peaks. Add the glycerine if using and the lemon juice. Spread icing all over cake. Decorate with Christmas ornaments.