Name: Suits-all Christmas cake
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 3 h 20 min
Total time: 3 h 50 min
Yield: Makes 1 x 20cm or 22cm round or square cake (each cuts into 20 pieces)
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: zest 1 orange or 2 clementines plus 100m juice; zest 2 lemons plus 100ml juice; 1 tbsp orange blossom water; 1 tsp rosewater; 3 tbsp clear honey; 200g glacé cherries; 200g mixed peel; 200g dried apricots diced; 175g golden sultanas; 140g dried cranberries or sour cherries, or a mix; 100g dried mango diced; 280g butter at room temperature, plus extra for greasing; 140g golden caster sugar; 140g light muscovado sugar; 4 large eggs beaten; 250g plain flour; 100g ground almonds; 2 tsp ground cinnamon; 1 tsp orange blossom water; 50ml orange juice

Home
Recipes
Suits-all Christmas cake

Suits-all Christmas cake

Sarah Cook

Save recipe

Makes 1 x 20cm or 22cm round or square cake (each cuts into 20 pieces)

Easy

Prep: 30 mins

Cook: 3 hrs - 3 hrs and 20 mins

plus overnight soaking

A star rating of 4.8 out of 5.11 ratingsRate

loading...

Give the classic Christmas fruitcake a makeover with cinnamon, rose, orange blossom and tropical mango for a fruity and fragrant cake

Freezable

Skip to ingredients

Alternatives

Complete the dish

Showing items 1 to 3 of 3

Classic iced holly cake

A star rating of 4.5 out of 5.2 ratings

Glitz & glam bauble fancies

A star rating of 5 out of 5.1 rating

Let-it-glow Christmas cake

A star rating of 2 out of 5.1 rating

Ingredients

Nutrition

Units:

MetricUS

zest 1 orange or 2 clementines

plus 100m juice
zest 2 lemons

plus 100ml juice
1 tbsp orange blossom water
1 tsp rosewater
3 tbsp clear honey
200g glacé cherries
200g mixed peel
200g dried apricots

diced
175g golden sultanas
140g dried cranberries

or sour cherries, or a mix
100g dried mango

diced
280g butter

at room temperature, plus extra for greasing
140g golden caster sugar
140g light muscovado sugar
4 large eggs

beaten
250g plain flour
100g ground almonds
2 tsp ground cinnamon

To feed the cake

1 tsp orange blossom water
50ml orange juice

Keep the screen awake with cook mode on the Good Food app.

Nutrition: per serving (20)

kcal396
fat16g
saturates8g
carbs57g
sugars46g
fibre3g
protein5g
salt0.4g

Method

step 1

Mix together the orange and lemon zests and juice, the orange blossom water, rosewater and honey in a large bowl. Stir in all of the dried fruit, cover and leave overnight to soak.
step 2

The next day, heat oven to 160C/140C fan/ gas 3. Grease and double-line a 22cm round or square cake tin (for a flatter cake) or a 20cm round or square tin (for a deeper cake) with baking parchment. In another big bowl, beat the butter and sugars together with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one by one, then fold in the flour, almonds and cinnamon.
step 3

Tip in the soaked fruits and any juices left in the bowl, and stir in. Spoon the mix into the prepared tin and level the top. If you want your cake flat rather than slightly rounded, make a gradual dip in the centre of the mix with the back of a wooden spoon. Bake for 1 hr 30 mins, then turn the oven down to 140C/120C fan/gas 1 and bake for another 1 hr 30 mins for 22cm cakes, or 1 hr 50 mins for 20cm cakes, until a skewer poked into the centre comes out clean. Cool in the tin, sitting on a wire rack.
step 4

While the cake is still warm, mix together the feeding ingredients, pepper the cake with holes using a thin skewer and spoon over the liquid. If you’re making the cake ahead of time, feed once a week for up to 4 weeks. Keep well wrapped in parchment, inside an airtight container, for up to 1 month. If you’re not getting ahead, this cake tastes just as delicious a day or two after baking.

Recipe from Good Food magazine, November 2014

Comments, questions and tips

Rate this recipe

What is your star rating out of 5?1 star out of 52 stars out of 53 stars out of 54 stars out of 55 stars out of 5

Choose the type of message you'd like to post

CommentQuestionTip

Overall rating

A star rating of 4.8 out of 5.11 ratings

Get 3 months of Good Food All Access

Get 3 months of Good Food All Access for just £6. Find triple-tested recipes that take the stress out of deciding what to cook, spend less time planning, and more time enjoying the season.

Subscribe now