How to bake a modern Christmas cake if you find traditional cakes too rich

Michelle Darmody shares her recipe for a lighter version of a classic Christmas cake

For those in your life who may not enjoy the richness of Christmas cake or pudding there are lighter alternatives.

Most Christmas bakes tend to be rich and very heavy with dried fruit. Such recipes originated in medieval times, but back then they looked quite different to the puddings and cakes we know today.

The originals contained boiled beef, as well as fruit and spices, and were often thickened with old bread and oats.

Some of the recipes were also laden with superstition and magic. There were thirteen ingredients added to a plum pudding, for example, which were said to represent Jesus and his twelve apostles.

Each member of the family took a turn stirring the wooden spoon when the pudding was being made, they had to twist it from east to west to symbolise the journey of the wise kings to the crib. Whatever the legacy, this rich and dense style of baking is now embedded into Irish tradition anda popular way to celebrate Christmas and the passing of another year.

For those in your life who may not enjoy the richness of Christmas cake or pudding there are lighter alternatives.

This loaf looks and feels very modern and is handy for many reasons. It can be adapted with different fruits of your preference, and it can also be made in advance and defrosted the morning you would like to serve it.

Dried cranberries can be used in place of the mixed peel or glacé cherries which look like shiny red jewels when the cake is sliced

Modern Christmas cake

recipe by:Michelle Darmody

This loaf looks and feels very modern, can be adapted with different fruits of your preference, and it can also be made in advance and defrosted the morning you would like to serve it.

Servings

8

Preparation Time

 20 mins

Cooking Time

 50 mins

Total Time

 1 hours 10 mins

Course

 Baking

Ingredients

• 140g soft butter

• 140g golden caster sugar

• 3 eggs, lightly whisked

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 220g self raising flour

• Zest 2 lemons

• 30g mixed candied fruit peel

• 140g golden raisins

• 1 tbsp squeezed orange juice

• For the icing

• 300g icing sugar

• ¾ tbsp water OR lemon juice OR orange juice

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 170ºC/gas mark 3

2. Line a 2 lb loaf tin with parchment

3. Beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy.

4. Stir the vanilla into the lightly beaten egg.

5. Slowly add the eggs to the butter mixture. Use a spatula to scrape around the edges and base of the bowl a few times as you do. If you have any butter mixture that is not combined with the egg your cake will dome up unevenly and split on the top.

6. Sieve the flour into the mixture and combine completely.

7. Toss the raisins in a little flour to help stop them sinking.

8. Add in the candied peel, raisins and the orange juice to the cake mixture and combine.

9. Scoop your batter into the prepared tin.

10. Bake for about 50 minutes until the cake is golden on top and a skewer comes out clean.

11. Once cool enough to handle, remove the cake from the tin and place on a wire rack to cool completely.

12. To make the icing stir the liquid you choose into the icing sugar. You may need a little more to make a smooth but not runny paste. It is best to add this a drop at a time. Using lemon juice will give you a very tangy finish and orange a milder version. You can use a combination of the two or keep to plain water if you like. Water will give the whitest finish.

13. Decorate with your choice of garnish to impress at the Christmas table.

Baker's tips

To ensure your loaf rises properly check the expiry date on your self-raising flour. If the flour is old the power of the raising agent within will have diminished, and it will not react in the oven to create air bubbles. Flour must be stored in a cool, dry place. A humid environment can also hinder the effectiveness of the raising agent.

The temperature of your oven can be another factor affecting the rise in your loaf. The temperature gauge on some ovens is not that accurate and the oven can often be either hotter or cooler than you think. If the seal is damaged on the door of your oven, for example, it will let the hot air out and change the temperature quite a bit. The best way to get around this is to invest in a separate oven thermometer.

Opening the door of an oven as a cake bakes can also affect the rise. If the loaf is very dense and heavy it may have been over mixed.

Make sure the butter and sugar mixture is really light and fluffy before adding the eggs.

Adding vanilla to the mixture will give a fuller and more dense flavour to your loaf.

A spatula is handy when making recipes like this. It is perfect for making sure all of the butter and sugar is mixed with the egg and flour, and it is also good for scooping your batter into the loaf tin. It helps ensure you get all of your cake batter out of the bowl and none goes to waste.

If you are going to freeze the cake do so without the icing. Allow it to come to room temperature when you remove it from the freezer, then ice and decorate it.

A delicious variation: Chocolate-orange loaf

Replace the golden raisins with the same weight of chocolate chips. Replace the lemon zest with the zest of two oranges. Dark chocolate chips work best.