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A slice of cake on a gold plate.
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Traditional Christmas Cake

This traditional Christmas cake is very moist, easy to make, and there is no maturing time! Feeling fancy? Decorate with marzipan and royal icing. If not, leave it plain and you still have an amazing cake!
Course Dessert
Cuisine British
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Inactive Time 5 days
Total Time 3 hours
Servings 25 servings
Calories 354kcal
Author Nina

Ingredients

Cake

  • 2 ½ cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 2 large eggs
  • 3 cups mincemeat
  • 14 oz sweetened condensed milk
  • 2 ½ tablespoons sherry divided
  • 2 cups glace fruit

Marzipan

  • 3 tablespoons apricot jam
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • 8 oz marzipan pre-made

Royal Icing

  • 3 egg whites pasteurized
  • 1 ½ lb icing sugar sifted
  • 1 ½ teaspoons glycerine

Instructions

Cake

  • Preheat oven to 300F. Grease and line a 9 inch springform pan. Set aside.
  • In a small bowl, whisk flour, baking soda and salt together.
  • In a large bowl, whisk eggs. Add mincemeat, condensed milk, 2 tablespoons of sherry, and glace fruit; mix together. Stir dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and pour into prepared pan.
  • Bake for 2 to 2 ½ hours, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow cake to cool on a wire rack.
  • Poke holes over the top of cake with toothpick. Pour ½ tablespoon sherry slowly over cake. Wrap with aluminum foil and let sit at room temperature for a few hours or overnight.

Marzipan

  • Warm apricot jam and water in a small pot over medium heat. Bring to a boil and then sieve the jam so that no peels remain. Brush the top and sides of the cake with the jam.
  • Roll out marzipan on a sifted icing sugar surface. Place marzipan over top of cake and smooth top and sides. Cut away excess. Cover cake with parchment paper and leave at room temperature for 3 days so marzipan can dry.

Royal Icing

  • Whisk egg whites in a large bowl until frothy. Mix in icing sugar, a tablespoon at a time, until all the icing sugar has been dissolved.
  • Whisk in glycerine and beat until the icing is stiff and stands up in peaks.
  • Spread the icing over the top and sides of the cake. To make a snow peak effect, use the back of a spoon to rough up the icing.
  • Leave the cake loosely covered overnight to allow the icing to harden. Store in a airtight container.

Notes

  • Alcohol - replace this with apple juice or orange juice if you like.
  • Instead of sherry, you can use brandy or rum.
  • Notice there is no sugar to this recipe? The sweetened condensed milk gives enough sweetness, and also makes the cake moist.
  • If you don't like the big chunks of glacee fruit mix, chop them finer.

Nutrition

Serving: 25g | Calories: 354kcal | Carbohydrates: 75g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 18mg | Sodium: 280mg | Potassium: 128mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 61g | Vitamin A: 126IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 56mg | Iron: 1mg