This Rich Fruit Cake recipe will make an 8 inch round cake that can be baked well ahead of the festive or wedding season. Feed it regularly with Brandy, Rum or Whisky and keep it well wrapped, and it will mature over time. It will make the ideal single tier wedding cake and is perfect for a family gathering at Christmas.
For a much lighter alternative to a rich fruit cake or if you are only baking for two, this Marmalade Tea Loaf or Mixed Fruit Traybake could be a better option.
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Why You Will Like This Recipe.
- It can be baked in advance of any occasion.
- Even though you may not have an electric mixer, you can still make this recipe by hand.
- It matures with age, especially when fed with brandy etc.
Ingredients and Substitutions
This is just an overview of the ingredients I used to make this moist fruit cake and why I may have used them. See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and quantities.
- Currants, Sultanas and Raisins - A mix of any dried fruits are fine. Just make sure the total weight is the same.
- Glace Cherries - If you want to remove the excess syrup on glace cherries rinse them in cold water and pat dry.
- Orange - Using all the zest of a large orange is ideal along with the juice.
- Brandy, Rum or Whisky - All are ideal for soaking the fruit overnight and for feeding the cake when baked. The alternative is to soak the fruit in all orange juice, but I'm not sure how well fruit juice is for feeding a cake, it's something I have never done.
- Flour - Self Raising Flour for this recipe. If using plain flour you will need to add a raising agent - Baking Powder.
- Mixed Spice - Nutmeg or cinnamon are nice alternatives or a mix of both.
- Salt - I use Sea Salt in all my baking but table salt is fine.
- Butter – Unsalted, fridge cold and cut into cubes
- Ground Almonds - If you can't get hold of ground almonds and have a Thermomix or strong blender, blitz whole almonds to a fine grain.
- Soft Dark Brown Sugar - Soft Light Brown Sugar is fine. Both have a nice toffee flavour.
- Eggs - Medium in size, free range and organic if you can.
- Black Treacle - This gives the cake a rich deep colour and taste. Molasses is a good alternative.
Step by Step Instructions
Please read through the recipe before you start to bake. Have everything ready. The first step is to soak the fruit overnight and you can also line the cake tin ready for baking in the morning. If you are really into prepping, weigh out all the ingredients so that you can work through the recipe step by step and not forget any ingredients.
Step 1: Mix together the mixed dried fruits, (Currants, Raisins, Sultanas) orange zest and Glace Cherries. Pour over the brandy and orange juice and give everything a good mix. Cover the bowl and leave to soak overnight to allow all the fruits to soak up the brandy and orange juice. Give it the occasional stir allowing the fruit to soak up as much of the liquid as possible.
Step 2: The next day when you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 170c deg (Fan assisted) Grease and line an 8 inch/20cm round loose bottom deep-sided cake tin with baking parchment. To help prevent the edges of the cake from baking too dry and possibly burning, line the outside of the tin with a folded sheet of thick brown paper, tied with string.
Step 3: Mix together the flour, salt, and mixed spice in a large mixing bowl. Rub in the butter using your fingertips, until you have a breadcrumb consistency.
Step 4: Add the sugar and ground almonds and mix until well combined. Add the eggs, and treacle followed by the overnight soaked fruit, and gently mix everything together until well combined.
Step 5: If you have a large electric mixer, use that when giving everything a good mix.
Step 6: Pour the fruit cake batter into the prepared 8-inch deep-sided cake tin making sure the top is level and smooth. Bake in the oven for 1hr 20mins, then turn the temperature down to 160 Fan and bake for a further 55 – 60 mins or until the cake is fully baked.
TIP: Towards the end of the baking time, you could place a sheet of baking parchment across the top and over the cake to help prevent any overbaking on the top. To check if the cake is baked, test the centre of the cake with a skewer until it comes out clean. If needed bake for longer as every oven is different.
Storage and Feeding the Christmas Cake
Leave to cool a little before taking the cake out of the tin. There is no need to remove the inner baking parchment that is lining the cake. Using a skewer make holes in the top of the cake and feed it with a couple of tablespoons of Brandy then wrap in more baking parchment. With a further wrap of foil.
Feed with Brandy, Rum or Whisky every other day for a few weeks. Leave wrapped and in an airtight container until required. It will keep this way for several months. Feel free to feed it with more brandy etc if you wish.
Tins For Different Sized Cakes
Cake Tin Sizes -This recipe makes 1 x 8 inch round cake. But it will also make cakes using either of the following deep sided cake tins.
- 2 x 6 inch round cakes or
- 1 x 6inch round cake plus 2 x 4 inch round cakes
Cooking Times for Small Christmas Cakes
The following baking times are meant to be a guide only. As you come towards the end of the baking time, do the skewer test. If it comes out clean, it's baked, if not bake longer, testing again at 10 mins intervals.
- 6 inch round tin = 1 hr at 160c then approx 40 mins at 120c
- 4 inch round tin = 1 hr 160c then approx 20 mins at 120c
Frequently Asked Questions
You can soak the fruit in Alcohol for a couple of days and up to a week.
When the cake has cooled completely, double wrap in greaseproof paper or baking parchment with a final wrap in foil. A well wrapped rich fruit cake will keep for several months when stored correctly.
To feed a rich fruit cake make small holes in the top of the cake with a skewer, and pour over with Brandy, rum or Whisky. Do this at regular intervals.
Fruit juice is a great alternative to alcohol for soaking fruit, I am not sure it is ideal to feed a cake with fruit juice that is stored for any length of time. Soak the fruit in fruit juice before baking and omit feeding the cake if you want it to remain an alcohol free cake. Simply wrap it well and it will still mature over time.
More Recipes with Dried Fruit.
After making this recipe please let me know how you got on by leaving a comment below. Especially if you used alternative ingredients.
Recipe
Rich Fruit Cake
Equipment
- 1 x 8 inch Deep sided loose bottomed round cake tin
- Baking Parchment
- Sheet of thick brown paper
Ingredients
- 350 grams Currants
- 225 grams Sultanas
- 225 grams Raisins
- 50 grams Glace Cherries
- Grated zest of 1 large orange
- 4 tablespoons Brandy or rum/Whiskey
- Juice of 1 large orange. Approx 5 tablespoons
- 285 grams Self Raising Flour
- 2 teaspoons Mixed Spice
- Pinch of salt
- 225 grams Unsalted Butter fridge cold and cut into cubes
- 75 grams Ground Almonds
- 225 grams Dark soft Brown sugar
- 6 medium eggs
- 2 tablespoons of Black Treacle.
Instructions
- Mix together the mixed dried fruits, orange zest and Glace Cherries. Pour over the brandy and orange juice and give everything a good mix. Cover the bowl and leave to soak overnight to allow all the fruits to soak up the brandy and orange juice. Give it the occasional stir allowing the fruit to soak up as much of the liquid as possible.350 grams Currants, 225 grams Sultanas, 225 grams Raisins, 50 grams Glace Cherries, Grated zest of 1 large orange, 4 tablespoons Brandy or rum/Whiskey, Juice of 1 large orange.
- The next day when you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 170c deg (Fan assisted). Grease and line 1 x 8 inch/20cm round loose bottom deep-sided cake tin with baking parchment. To help prevent the edges of the cake from baking too dry and possibly burning, line the outside of the tin with a folded sheet of thick brown paper, tied with string.
- Mix together the flour, salt, and mixed spice in a large mixing bowl. Rub in the butter using your fingertips, until you have a breadcrumb consistency.285 grams Self Raising Flour, 2 teaspoons Mixed Spice, Pinch of salt, 225 grams Unsalted Butter
- Add the sugar and ground almonds and mix until well combined. Add the eggs, and treacle followed by the overnight soaked fruit, and gently mix everything together until well combined.75 grams Ground Almonds, 225 grams Dark soft Brown sugar, 6 medium eggs, 2 tablespoons of Black Treacle.
- If you have a large electric mixer, use that when giving everything a good mix.
- Pour the fruit cake batter into the prepared 8-inch deep-sided cake tin making sure the top is level and smooth. Bake in the oven for 1hr 20mins. Then turn the temperature down to 160 Fan and bake for a further 55 – 60 mins or until the cake is fully baked.
- TIP: Towards the end of the baking time, you could place a sheet of baking parchment across the top and over the cake to help prevent any overbaking on the top. To check if the cake is baked, test the centre of the cake with a skewer until it comes out clean. If needed bake for a little longer.
- Take out of the tin and leave the inner baking parchment lining on the cake. Feed the cake with a couple of tablespoons of Brandy and wrap in more baking parchment. With a further wrap of foil.
- Feed with Brandy, Rum or Whisky every other day for a few weeks. Leave wrapped and in an airtight container until required.
Your Private Notes
Notes
Nutrition
Note: Recipes are tested using Metric only. The provided nutrition information is an estimate for the entire recipe, the calorie accuracy nutritional facts, unit and portion conversion are calculated by a third party app. and are not guaranteed.
Janet Memola
Hi Lynn, Thank You for your recipes, they’re always simple & delicious. I can’t believe Christmas is around the corner again, and time to start again. “Good Luck” with your New Book. Love Jan xx
Lynn
Thank your for your kind words, Janet.
Janet Memola
Hi Lynn Just done my Christmas Cake, my friend lives on her own it would be too big for her if I made her a Loaf size cake, can you give me an idea how much to cut the mixture down by? Thank You Jxx
Lynn
Hi Janet. As the recipe will make a couple of 6 inch cakes, see the section on 'Tins for Different Sized Cakes' and 'Cooking Times for Different Sized Christmas Cakes', I'm guessing if you half the quantity it would fit perhaps a 900g/2lb loaf tin. But this is only a guess as I haven't made this recipe in a loaf tin.