Christmas Fruit Cake Baking Time
My Mum's Fruitcake Recipe
4 h 30 min
1 h
3 h 30 min
8 ×
4 cups mixed candied fruit
2 cups seedless sultana raisins
2 cups golden raisins
½ cup brandy
1 cup blanched almonds
1 cup pecans or walnuts (coarsely chopped)
2 cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup grandulated sugar
½ cup unsalted butter
1 cup brown sugar (packed)
5 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp almond extract
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp allspice
½ tsp mace
½ cup strawberry jam
Chris Stoate
This is a medium-dark fruitcake that has rich flavour and doesn’t need much aging to mellow.
2 lb (4 cups) mixed candied (glaced) fruit. Can be pineapples, cherries, peel. I usually use red and green cherries mix.
2 cups seedless sultana raisins
2 cups golden raisins
½ cup brandy (or fruit juice but alcohol dissipates with heat)
1 cup blanched almonds
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup butter
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
5 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
½ tsp almond flavouring
1-½ cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp each: cinnamon, allspice, mace
½ cup strawberry jam
Combine candied fruit and raisins, add the brandy and let stand at least 2 hours, stirring once or twice.
Prepare cake pan (10” round by 2-½” deep, or 8” square by 3-½” deep, or a 10” tube pan). Grease the pan, line with brown paper or parchment paper, and grease the paper.
Add almonds and pecans/walnuts to the fruit and toss with ½ cup flour.
Cream butter with granulated sugar. Add brown sugar and cream thoroughly. Beat in eggs one at a time. Beat in flavourings (vanilla and almond, not spices).
Combine remaining flour, soda and spices well then blend in. Blend in strawberry jam. Mix in floured fruit thoroughly.
Turn into prepared pan.
Bake in 275 degrees F oven for about 3-½ hours or until cake is firm to touch, and skewer inserted in centre comes out clean. Cool 30 minutes before removing from pan. When cooled completely, wrap in foil or place in a cake tin and store at least a week before slicing. Can mellow 3 or 4 weeks or more before serving: unwrap periodically and brush with brandy. Can use cheesecloth as an underlayer and sprinkle brandy through it. Makes about a 6-lb cake.
Top with marzipan icing and this tooth-breaking little silver balls and you have the genuine British Christmas Fruitcake experience. A slice before skiing, tobogganing or skating on the weekend, and it can last the whole winter...
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