Nanna's Christmas Cake
Celebrate the festive season with Nanna's Christmas Cake, a time-honored classic brimming with holiday flavors and nostalgic charm. This richly spiced fruitcake features a medley of raisins, sultanas, currants, and chopped apricots, balanced by zesty orange and lemon peel and the warm embrace of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Enhanced with a generous splash of brandy, every slice boasts a moist, tender crumb and nutty undertones from chopped almonds. The cake is baked low and slow for a perfect texture and can be lovingly "fed" with brandy over weeks to deepen its flavor. Whether served as a festive dessert centerpiece or wrapped as homemade gifts, this foolproof recipe will fill your home with the heartwarming aroma of Christmas. Perfect for holiday gatherings, this traditional fruitcake offers both a taste of nostalgia and a showstopping seasonal treat.
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Ingredients
- 250 grams unsalted butter
- 200 grams brown sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 275 grams all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 0.5 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 0.25 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 0.25 teaspoon salt
- 200 grams raisins
- 200 grams sultanas
- 150 grams currants
- 100 grams chopped dried apricots
- 75 grams candied peel
- 100 grams chopped almonds
- 1 zest of orange
- 1 zest of lemon
- 60 milliliters brandy
- 2 tablespoons milk
Directions
Step 1
Preheat your oven to 150°C (300°F). Grease and line an 8-inch round or square cake tin with parchment paper, ensuring the paper extends above the tin edge.
Step 2
In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar together until light and fluffy. Use an electric mixer for ease.
Step 3
Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. If the mixture starts to curdle, add a tablespoon of the flour and continue mixing.
Step 4
In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, ground cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, baking powder, and salt.
Step 5
Gradually fold the sifted dry ingredients into the wet mixture. Use a spatula or wooden spoon to ensure it's well combined without overmixing.
Step 6
Stir in the raisins, sultanas, currants, chopped apricots, candied peel, almonds, orange zest, and lemon zest. Mix until evenly distributed.
Step 7
Gently fold in the brandy and milk, ensuring the batter has a thick but spoonable consistency.
Step 8
Spoon the batter into the prepared cake tin, leveling the surface with the back of the spoon.
Step 9
Wrap the outside of the tin with a double layer of brown paper or newspaper secured with string. This helps prevent the edges of the cake from burning.
Step 10
Bake in the preheated oven for 3 hours, or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Start checking around the 2-hour-45-minute mark.
Step 11
Once baked, remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool in the tin for 20 minutes. Then transfer it to a wire rack to cool completely.
Step 12
Once completely cool, you can feed the cake with additional brandy by poking small holes in the top and spooning over a little brandy. Wrap the cake in parchment paper and foil, and store in an airtight container for up to several weeks. Feeding with brandy weekly will enhance the flavor and keep it moist.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving size | (1861.9g) |
|---|
| Amount per serving | % Daily Value* |
|---|---|
| Calories | 6637.8 |
| Total Fat 287.2g | 0% |
| Saturated Fat 135.8g | 0% |
| Polyunsaturated Fat 0.2g | |
| Cholesterol 1300.2mg | 0% |
| Sodium 1584.1mg | 0% |
| Total Carbohydrate 982.7g | 0% |
| Dietary Fiber 53.3g | 0% |
| Total Sugars 640.5g | |
| Protein 96.9g | 0% |
| Vitamin D 173.0IU | 0% |
| Calcium 1072.7mg | 0% |
| Iron 34.8mg | 0% |
| Potassium 6763.6mg | 0% |
Source of Calories