Well it's that time again when we need to make the Christmas cake. This traditional Christmas cake recipe has been handed down the generations in my family, it's from the same book that my Mum uses and my grandmother used - Good Housekeeping's Cookery Compendium from 1952. The recipe is the rich fruit cake recipe that we finish off nearer to Christmas with marzipan and royal icing.
You really should try making your own Christmas cake, it's not difficult, great fun and the taste and satisfaction are both amazing. It is a really good way of getting everyone involved in the kitchen, even the little ones who can mix and make that all important wish - a tradition I used to love as a kid and which ours love now! It's a good idea to make your Christmas cake few weeks in advance so it has a chance to mature making it taste much richer come the big day.
Get the kids involved in making the Christmas cake, and be sure to make that wish when you're stirring!

Put on some Christmas music - we recommend Christmas with the Rat Pack 🙂
Clean and dry the fruit (using a clean tea towel) and chop the peel (if not chopped) and cherries
Put the sugar and butter in a bowl and cream together
Break the eggs separately in another bowl, beat lightly and add one by one into the creamed mixture
Beat each egg in thoroughly before adding the next. The mixture should be light and fluffy
Sieve dry ingredients into a bowl and add the fruit and lemon rind. Fold gradually into creamed mixture
Continue to mix in dry ingredients lightly, adding a squeeze of lemon juice and a little milk
At this stage, why not get everyone to have a mix and make a wish - just make sure they don't tell what it is!
Put the mixture, which should be of a stiff drooping consistency, into a double lined 9-inch (around 22cm) cake tin (we line with greaseproof paper or baking parchment)
Bake at 150C for about two hours, then turn down the oven to 135C and continue to cook for a further 2.5 to 3 hours. I'd recommend checking after the first (extra) hour as your oven may be cooking it quicker.
When the cake is sufficiently brown you can cover it with a double sheet of greaseproof paper
Once finished leave the cake to cool in the tin for a while before taking it out of the tin and leaving it on a wire rack to cool
Once completely cool, put away in a tin for a few weeks until it's time to put almond icing (marzipan) layer on.
The kids can help with almost all of this. We barely got involved at all, they did all of the weighing, pouring and mixing and we just helped with the oven.
Ingredients
Directions
Put on some Christmas music - we recommend Christmas with the Rat Pack 🙂
Clean and dry the fruit (using a clean tea towel) and chop the peel (if not chopped) and cherries
Put the sugar and butter in a bowl and cream together
Break the eggs separately in another bowl, beat lightly and add one by one into the creamed mixture
Beat each egg in thoroughly before adding the next. The mixture should be light and fluffy
Sieve dry ingredients into a bowl and add the fruit and lemon rind. Fold gradually into creamed mixture
Continue to mix in dry ingredients lightly, adding a squeeze of lemon juice and a little milk
At this stage, why not get everyone to have a mix and make a wish - just make sure they don't tell what it is!
Put the mixture, which should be of a stiff drooping consistency, into a double lined 9-inch (around 22cm) cake tin (we line with greaseproof paper or baking parchment)
Bake at 150C for about two hours, then turn down the oven to 135C and continue to cook for a further 2.5 to 3 hours. I'd recommend checking after the first (extra) hour as your oven may be cooking it quicker.
When the cake is sufficiently brown you can cover it with a double sheet of greaseproof paper
Once finished leave the cake to cool in the tin for a while before taking it out of the tin and leaving it on a wire rack to cool
Once completely cool, put away in a tin for a few weeks until it's time to put almond icing (marzipan) layer on.