Christmas cake

Recipe by:

Get into the festive spirit by baking this fabulously punchy Christmas treat with dried fruit and a depth of brandy flavour

Christmas cake

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Ingredients

  • 270g golden raisins

  • 270g sultanas

  • 360g currants

  • 225g mixed peel

  • 120g dried cranberries

  • 250ml brandy

  • 225g soft butter

  • 230g brown sugar

  • 1 tin of strawberries drained and mashed

  • 5 medium eggs, lightly beaten

  • 275g plain flour

  • 2 tsp mixed cake spice

  • 3 tsp ground nutmeg

  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon

  • 100g glacé cherries, washed and patted dry and roughly chopped

  • zest of 3 oranges

  • 1 medium cooking apple, cored, peeled and grated

  • 120g whole almonds, roughly chopped

  • ½ glass of sherry

Method

  1. Put all fruit except cherries into a bowl add the brandy and leave to soak overnight.

  2. Beat butter, brown sugar, then add the strawberries, gently beat in the eggs. Add a little flour if curdling. Fold in flour with the spices. Fold in soaked fruit, cherries, zest, grated apple and almonds. Stir in the sherry.

  3. Line 8in tin scoop in the mixture. Flatten it out with the back of a wet spoon.

  4. Place the cake on a tray of salt, place the tray into the oven and bake for three hours at 100°C and then for a further one hour at 140°C.

  5. Allow to cool in the tin.

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