Delia's Classic Christmas Cake

I just couldn't be without Delia Smiths Complete Cookery Course book. When I got married first, I could just about boil an egg and even at that I wasn't always successful. So when I decided to become a stay at home mother I knew I had to brush up on my culinary skills. I still had my old home economics book but I needed a lot more help that it could offer, so I bought Delia's book. You know when the first chapter starts with how to boil an egg that you're onto a winner :)

This fruit cake has been taken from that book and although the cake is now commercially available in a pretty pre-weighted ingredients box in my local supermarket, I still think it's a worthy post. When you've baked this beauty then I suggest to try this post: How To Decorate A Christmas Cake


Makes 20cm Round Cake or 18cm Square Cake

Ingredients
1 lb (450 g) Currants
6 oz (175 g) Sultanas
6 oz (175 g) Raisins
2 oz (50 g) Glacé cherries, rinsed, dried and finely chopped
2 oz (50 g) Mixed candied peel, finely chopped
3 tablespoons Brandy, plus extra for 'feeding'
8 oz (225 g) Plain flour
½ level teaspoon Salt
¼ level teaspoon Freshly grated nutmeg
½ level teaspoon Ground mixed spice
8 oz (225 g) Unsalted butter
8 oz (225 g) Soft brown sugar
4 large Eggs
2 oz (50 g) Almonds, chopped (the skins can be left on)
1 level dessert-spoon Black treacle
Grated zest 1 lemon
Grated zest 1 orange
4 oz (110 g) Whole blanched almonds (only if you don't intend to ice the cake)

Equipment: You will also need an 8 inch (20 cm) round cake tin or a 7 inch (18 cm) square tin, greased and lined with silicone paper (baking parchment). Tie a band of brown paper round the outside of the tin for extra protection.

Method
You need to begin this cake the night before you want to bake it. All you do is weigh out the dried fruit and mixed peel, place it in a mixing bowl and mix in the brandy as evenly and thoroughly as possible.

Cover the bowl with a clean tea cloth and leave the fruit aside to absorb the brandy for 12 hours.

Next day pre-heat the oven to gas Mark 1, 275°F (140°C). Then measure out all the rest of the ingredients, ticking them off to make quite sure they're all there. The treacle will be easier to measure if you remove the lid and place the tin in a small pan of barely simmering water. 

Now begin the cake by sifting the flour, salt and spices into a large mixing bowl, lifting the sieve up high to give the flour a good airing.

Next, in a separate large mixing bowl, whisk the butter and sugar together until it's light, pale and fluffy. Now beat the eggs in a separate bowl and add them to the creamed mixture a tablespoonful at a time; keep the whisk running until all the egg is incorporated. If you add the eggs slowly by degrees like this the mixture won't curdle. If it does, don't worry, any cake full of such beautiful things can't fail to taste good! When all the egg has been added, fold in the flour and spices, using gentle, folding movements and not beating at all (this is to keep all that precious air in).

Now fold in the fruit, peel, chopped nuts and treacle and finally the grated lemon and orange zests. Next, using a large kitchen spoon, transfer the cake mixture into the prepared tin, spread it out evenly with the back of a spoon and, if you don't intend to ice the cake, lightly drop the whole blanched almonds in circles or squares all over the surface. (I like to make a dip in the middle so that a a level top when baked and wrap the tin with newspaper for added protection!!)

Finally cover the top of the cake with a double square of silicone paper with a small hole in the centre (this gives extra protection during the long slow cooking).

Bake the cake on the lowest shelf of the oven for 4½-4¾ hours. Sometimes it can take up to ½-¾ hour longer than this, but in any case don't look till at least 4 hours have passed.

Cool the cake for 30 minutes in the tin, then remove it to a wire rack to finish cooling. When it's cold 'feed' it – make small holes in the top and base of the cake with a cocktail stick or small skewer, then spoon over a few teaspoons of brandy, wrap it in double silicone paper secured with an elastic band and either wrap again in foil or store in an airtight container. You can now feed it at odd intervals until you need to ice or eat it.