Name: Honey saffron Christmas cake
Cook time: 2 h 30 min
Total time: 3 h
Yield: Cuts into 12 slices
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 225g butter softened, plus extra for greasing; 2 tbsp brandy; pinch saffron (about 1⁄4tsp strands); 225g golden caster sugar; 4 eggs; 225g plain flour; 50g ground almond; 1 tsp baking powder; 300g raisin; 300g sultana; 100g natural-coloured glacé cherry halved; 85g mixed peel; 50g whole blanched almond roughly chopped; 50g whole blanched hazelnut roughly chopped; 50g walnut pieces; 3 tbsp brandy; 2 tbsp honey

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Honey saffron Christmas cake

Honey saffron Christmas cake

Jane Hornby

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Cuts into 12 slices

Easy

Prep: 30 mins

Cook: 2 hrs and 30 mins

A star rating of 4.7 out of 5.26 ratingsRate

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Has all the flavours of Christmas without being too heavy and can be made at the last minute too

Freezable

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Ingredients

Nutrition

Units:

MetricUS

For the cake

225g butter

softened, plus extra for greasing
2 tbsp brandy
pinch saffron

(about 1⁄4tsp strands)
225g golden caster sugar
4 eggs
225g plain flour
50g ground almond
1 tsp baking powder
300g raisin
300g sultana
100g natural-coloured glacé cherry

halved
85g mixed peel
50g whole blanched almond

roughly chopped
50g whole blanched hazelnut

roughly chopped
50g walnut

pieces

To soak

3 tbsp brandy
2 tbsp honey

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Nutrition: per serving

kcal613
fat28g
saturates11g
carbs82g
sugars67g
fibre3g
protein9g
salt0.6g

low

Method

step 1

Heat oven to 160C/fan 140C/gas 3. Butter and line a round, deep 20cm cake tin with two layers of baking parchment (see Knowhow, below). Tie a few sheets of newspaper around the outside of the tin, level with the top of the baking parchment.
step 2

Heat the brandy in a small pan, then add the saffron and leave to infuse off the heat for a few mins. Put the butter, sugar, eggs, flour, ground almonds, baking powder and a pinch of salt into a bowl, then beat together until creamy and smooth. Mix the fruit, nuts and brandy saffron mix into the batter and stir well.
step 3

Spoon into the prepared tin, smooth the top and make a slight dip in the middle. Bake for 1½ hrs, then cover loosely with foil to stop the top over-browning. Turn oven down to 140C/fan 120C/gas 1 and cook for 1 hr more until a skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin then, while it’s still warm, prod the cake all over with a skewer.
step 4

Mix the brandy and honey together and spoon over the cake. Wrap up well in foil and keep in an airtight container until Christmas, feeding with more honeyed brandy every so often.

RECIPE TIPS

JANE SAYS...

If you like a lighter cake at Christmas, then my honey saffron cake is for you. It’s still full of fruit and nuts but rather than being heavy with treacle and spice, there’s golden sugar and delicate saffron, which shine through in the amber colour and scented flavour. Honey and saffron are natural partners so I’ve drenched it in a boozy honey syrup, too! You can repeat the soaking part of the recipe twice more if you want a more intense flavour.

Recipe from Good Food magazine, December 2007

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A star rating of 4.7 out of 5.26 ratings

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