Ingredients
1 lb (450g) currants
6 oz (175g) sultanas
6 oz (175g) raisins
2 oz (50g) glace cherries , chopped
2 oz (50g) mixed peel, chopped
brandy or sherry
8 oz (225g) plain flour
1/2 level teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground mixed spice
8 oz (225g) unsalted butter
8 oz (225g) soft brown sugar
4 large eggs or 5 small
2 oz (50g) chopped almonds or walnuts
1 level dessertspoon black treacle
grated rind of 1 lemon
grated rind of 1 orange
4 oz (110g) whole blanched almonds to decorate if not icing.
The dried fruit, peel and cherries can be substituted with mixed luxury dried fruit to simplify. Just make sure the weight totals the same.
How to Make it
You will need an 8″ round or 7″ or 8″ square tin, lined.
Start the night before.
Weigh out the dried fruit into large bowl. Mix in about 3 tablespoons brandy or sherry and stir thoroughly. Cover and leave overnight, adding more sherry and stirring thoroughly as needed.
Next day
- Preheat oven to 275F / 140C
- Sift flour, salt and spices into large bowl.
- Beat sugar and butter together until light, white and fluffy.
- Whisk eggs separately and add a tablespoonful at a time to butter mixture.
- Fold in flour and spices.
- Fold in everything else.
- Put mixture in cake tin and spread the surface flat.
- Decorate with blanched almonds.
- Cover top of cake with doubled greaseproof paper, with hole the size of 50p piece cut out of centre.
- Bake on lowest shelf of oven for 4 1/2 – 4 3/4 hours, at least 4 hrs. Check with skewer.
- Allow cake to cool for at least 30 minutes before trying to remove from tin.
Tags: almonds, butter, Christmas cake, currants, eggs, glace cherries, lemon, mixwd spice, nutmeg, orange. almonds, plain flour, raisins, soft brown sugar, sultanas, treacle
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