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Mary Berry’s rich fruit Christmas cake

By: Mary Berry

Published: 30 Oct 21
Updated: 5 Nov 24

Mary Berry’s rich traditional Christmas cake recipe is filled to the brim with fruit, as well as almonds, brandy and treacle. It’s one of the absolute best if you’re after a rich fruity bake.

Made it? Now discover 10 ways to decorate your Christmas cake to turn your fruit cake into a festive showstopper.

Easy
December 2013

Test kitchen approved

Serves 30
Takes 20 min to make, 4-5 hours to cook, plus overnight soaking

Mary Berry’s rich traditional Christmas cake recipe is filled to the brim with fruit, as well as almonds, brandy and treacle. It’s one of the absolute best if you’re after a rich fruity bake.

Made it? Now discover 10 ways to decorate your Christmas cake to turn your fruit cake into a festive showstopper.

Nutrition: per serving

Calories: 304kcals
Fat: 11g (5.9g saturated)
Protein: 3.7g
Carbohydrates: 47.1g (41.1g sugars)
Fibre: 1.9g
Salt: 0.1g

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Ingredients

425g currants
250g each sultanas and raisins
300g glacé cherries, quartered, rinsed and drained
150g ready-to-eat dried apricots, snipped into small pieces
75g mixed candied peel, roughly chopped
4 tbsp brandy, plus extra for pouring
300g plain flour
1 tsp ground mixed spice
½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
300g softened unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
300g dark muscovado sugar
5 medium free-range eggs
1 tbsp black treacle
Finely grated zest of 1 large lemon
Finely grated zest of 1 large orange
60g whole unblanched almonds, roughly chopped

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Method

Combine the dried fruit and candied peel in a large bowl. Add the 4 tbsp brandy and stir in to mix well. Cover and leave overnight.
Preheat the oven to 140°C/fan 120°C/gas 1. Put the remaining ingredients except the almonds in a large bowl. Beat with a hand-held electric mixer until well combined. Stir in the nuts and the soaked fruit with any soaking liquid.
Grease a deep 23cm round tin or 20cm square cake tin with butter, line with a double layer of baking paper and grease the paper (see Know-how). Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin. Level the top and cover with a disc of baking paper.

Bake for 4-5 hours until firm to the touch and a skewer pushed into the middle comes out clean. Leave the cake to cool in the tin.
When the cake has cooled, remove the baking paper disc, pierce the top in several places with a skewer, then pour over a little brandy. Remove the cake from the tin but keep it in the baking paper. Wrap with more baking paper, then wrap with foil. Store in a cool place for up to 3 months to mature, occasionally unwrapping and spooning over 1-2 tbsp brandy.
Decorate the cake with glacé fruit, marzipan or ready-to-use icing. Tie a ribbon around the cake if you like before serving.

Recipe from Mary Berry’s Complete Cookbook (£25; Dorling Kindersley)

Recipe from December 2013 Issue

Nutrition

Nutrition: per serving

Calories: 304kcals
Fat: 11g (5.9g saturated)
Protein: 3.7g
Carbohydrates: 47.1g (41.1g sugars)
Fibre: 1.9g
Salt: 0.1g

delicious. tips

Soak the fruit overnight so it can absorb the alcohol and plump up. If you’re short on time, warm everything briefly in a microwave so the fruit will absorb the alcohol more quickly. Let the fruit cool completely before making the cake.

If you prefer, you can feed the cake with spiced rum, sloe gin, whisky, sherry or madeira.
Double-line the cake tin with well-buttered baking paper to stop the outside of the cake from drying out during the long cooking time.

Put a circle or square of greased baking paper on top of the cake to prevent the upper surface from browning too much.