A Time-Tested Recipe to Make the Perfect Christmas Cake (2024)

FAQs

How long before Christmas should you start making Christmas cake? ›

Some say you should make your Christmas cake 6 weeks before eating, but the advice given on Nigella.com is that 12 weeks before is the optimum time to get baking. Your Christmas cake should be fed every 4 to 6 weeks but in the meantime, after baking, it should be stored away in a secure, air tight container.

Opinions on the "maturing" of Christmas cakes does vary and is partly an issue of personal taste, but for the rich fruit type of Christmas cakes we would suggest making them up to 3 months ahead of Christmas.

Other good choices of booze include brandy, rum, or whiskey. Feel free to use one or a mix of these to best complement your fruitcake. Once you've chosen the liquor, bake the cake, poke holes throughout the whole thing, and pour a few tablespoons of the alcohol over it. Or, you can brush the cake with the alcohol.

Each family member should take a turn stirring the Christmas cake mixture, or bad luck will befall them — this applies mainly to unmarried girls, who, legend says, will remain alone for another year if they miss their turns.

There's no hard and fast rule about when to ice your cake, but it's best to do it between 24 hours and a week ahead of the big day.

It's possible to overfeed your cake, which will make it stodgy and wet.

Leave to cool in the tin. Once it is cool don't remove the baking parchment as this keeps the cake moist. Wrap fully in more parchment and then in foil and store in a cool dry place.

You can also try using simple syrup to soak the cake layers or top of the cake to make it little soft. warming the fruitcake or slices can make them softer and soaking in some brandy or rum will help.

How much alcohol do you soak fruit it for Christmas cake? The amount of alcohol you soak fruit in for Christmas cake depends on your personal preference. If you want a strong alcohol flavor, soak the fruit in a cup of brandy or rum. If you prefer a milder flavor, soak the fruit in a cup of orange juice or apple cider.

How do you keep fruit cake moist with alcohol? ›

Allow cakes to cool in pans on racks. When cooled, remove cakes from pans and remove parchment paper. Brush cakes generously with sweet sherry, brandy, rum, port, liqueur or fruit juice; do not use wine.

This can happen for a variety of reasons ranging from type of flour, not enough eggs/wrong size eggs, not enough liquid or fats and even storage.

In an oven that's too hot, the outside of the cake cooks at a much faster rate than the inside. A crust forms early on, but as the inside of the cake continues to cook and rise, this crack crusts. You might experience the same problem if the cake recipe has too much leavener or if you've used a pan that's too small.

The balance of fruit to cake batter is most likely out of proportion. Too much sugar can make a cake crumble when cut, while too little will make it dense – that's why it's essential to carefully measure the ingredients.

You'll find that most of your favorite Christmas cookie recipes can be made anywhere from a month to six months before the 25th of December. (Consult this handy how-to guide to the matter.) Generally, most recipes will be best if baked and then frozen.

Un-iced: If you don't need to ice your cake until the day, you can bake your cake at least 2-3 days ahead of time. But you will need to store it carefully. Ensure that you wrap the cake and have it stored in an airtight container so it doesn't lose moisture.

Once cut, Christmas cakes will store well if wrapped and kept in an airtight container. For longer storage of Christmas cakes wrap closely in kitchen foil and freeze. To serve an iced fruit cake that has been stored for a long time, unwrap it and remove the old icing and marzipan.

Like most rich fruit cakes, it benefits from a maturing period and being fed with some extra alcohol, though in the book it is suggested that the keeping time is 6 weeks and generally we suggest if keeping the cake for longer than this then the cake should be frozen as it will keep for a year.