Quick and Easy Last Minute Christmas Cake
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
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Ingredients
  • 400-450g dried fruit and nuts- I used a combination of 200g glace cherries, 60g dried dates chopped, 50g dried cranberries, and then brazils, almonds and walnuts
  • 150ml cherry brandy (or other tipple, or freshly squeezed orange juice)
  • 2 dessert apples
  • 200g soft butter
  • 200g muscovado sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 tbsp black treacle
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • ½tsp mixed spice (optional as I think some children aren't keen on this)
  • 200g self raising flour
  • For decorating you will need apricot jam and approx 700g marzipan and 700g ready to use icing
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 180C/ fan 160C/ gas 4
  2. Grease and line a 20cm round cake tin with greaseproof paper
  3. Put all the dried fruit into a bowl with the cherry brandy, mix well
  4. Core and chop up the apples with their skin on and add to the bowl of dried fruit and stir- if you can afford to leave this for a couple of hours then great but if not don't worry, go straight on to the next stage
  5. Put the butter, sugar, eggs, treacle, spices and flour in a bowl and beat with an electric whisk if you have one, until pale and smooth
  6. Stir in the fruit and the nuts, making sure it is well mixed
  7. Spoon the mixture into the cake tin
  8. Bake in the oven for 1 hour 15 mins- 1 hour 30 mins or until the cake is completely cooked through. I test using a skewer which I insert into the middle of the cake, when it comes out clean the cake is cooked.
  9. Leave in the tin for 10 minutes and then allow the cake to cool completely on a wire rack
  10. I have added a great video to the post on how to decorate a cake with marzipan and the same principle applies for icing it too. You can't go wrong if you follow the tips.
Recipe by Cherished By Me at https://cherishedbyme.com/2015/12/quick-and-easy-last-minute-christmas-cake/