What's Christmas without a classic Christmas cake after dinner? Delia Smith's Christmas cake recipe promises to be a timeless pud that you can count on.
Of course, you can finish yours off with crisp white icing, but we're going to stick to Delia's simple yet effective almond topping which looks and tastes delicious.
This recipe comes from Delia's first cookbook and is a real family recipe, combining her grandmother’s and mother’s original recipe with a few tweaks from Delia herself.
Delia Smith's Christmas cake recipe
Takes: 4 hours - 4 hours 45 mins to cook
Ingredients
For the pre-soaking:
450g currants
175g sultanas
175g raisins
50g chopped glacé cherries
50g mixed chopped candied peel
100ml brandy
For the cake:
225g plain flour
½ teaspoon salt
¼ level teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated
½ level teaspoon ground mixed spice
225g dark brown soft sugar
4 large eggs
1 dessertspoon black treacle
225g spreadable butter
50g chopped almonds (skin on)
zest of 1 lemon and 1 orange
For feeding and topping:
Armagnac or brandy to 'feed' the cake
100g whole blanched almonds (only if you don’t intend to ice the cake)
Method
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Put all the fruits, in a bowl and mix them with the brandy, cover with a cloth and leave them to soak for a minimum of 12 hours. When you’re ready to cook the cake, preheat the oven to 140°C, Gas mark 1.
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Sift the flour, salt and spices into a very large roomy mixing bowl then add the sugar, eggs, treacle (warm it a little first to make it easier) and butter and beat with an electric hand whisk until everything is smooth and fluffy.
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Gradually fold in the pre-soaked fruit mixture, chopped nuts and finally the grated lemon and orange zest.
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Next, using a large kitchen spoon, transfer the cake mixture into the prepared tin, spread it out evenly with the back of the spoon and, if you don’t intend to decorate the cake with marzipan and icing, lightly drop the blanched almonds in circles over the surface.
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Finally, take a double square of baking parchment with a 50p-sized hole in the centre (for extra protection during the cooking) and place this not on top of the mixture itself but on the rim of the brown paper. Bake the cake on the lowest shelf of the oven for 4 hours until it feels springy in the centre when lightly touched. Sometimes it can take 30–45 minutes longer than this, but in any case, don’t look at it for 4 hours.
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Cool the cake for 30 minutes in the tin, then remove it to a wire rack to finish cooling.
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When it’s cold, ‘feed’ it by making small holes in the top and bottom with a cocktail stick and spooning in a couple of tablespoons of Armagnac or brandy, then wrap it in parchment-lined foil and store in an airtight tin. You can now ‘feed’ it at odd intervals until you need to ice or eat it.
Looking for an alternative option? Check out Mary Berry’s Christmas cake recipe.
FAQs
How many weeks before Christmas should you make a Christmas cake?
Most experts such as Nigella Lawson, Jane's Patisserie and others recommend making your Christmas cake somewhere between 6 to 12 weeks in advance. This will give your cake time to mature and firm up, which improves its flavour and appearance. It will also allow you to "feed" the cake regularly with alcohol or other preferred liquids of your choice to keep it moist and prevent crumbling.
You just need to make sure that you are storing your cake in an airtight container after baking. However, you can also freeze it for 3 months or more, if you wish to keep it for longer.
When should I take my Christmas Cake out of the tin?
You can start checking on the cake about 30 minutes before the end of the baking time. You will notice when the edges pull away from the pan, it smells good, the top and edges are golden brown, a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean, and the cake springs back when gently pressed.
Once it is done, let the cake cool in the tin for about 30 minutes and then you can move it to a wire rack to finish cooling.
How to line a cake tin according to Delia Smith?
Delia Smith has laid out detailed descriptions of how to line your cake tin according to what its shape is. For a square tin, centre the tin on the sheet of baking paper, then make four cuts from the paper’s edge right up to the corners of the tin. Fit the baking parchment inside, folding and overlapping it at the corners. For the base paper, cut a square out, again using the tin as a template and fit it in the base.
For a round tin, she suggests cutting a strip of baking parchment slightly longer than the circumference of the tin and 3 inches (7.5 cm) higher. Fold it back about 1 inch (2.5cm) along its length, then snip it at an angle at intervals up to the fold which can be pressed around the sides. Finally, cut a circle out – using the tin as a template – for the base.
Lorna White is a Senior Digital Writer at Yours.co.uk. She was previously a writer at Yours Magazine writing features and news stories before joining the digital team. Lorna loves the great British countryside and likes to spend her spare time out and about in her home of Nottinghamshire walking her dog, Pippin.