When it comes to making a festive classic such as Christmas cake, there's the added pressure of getting the recipe perfect - enter Mary Berry!
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The former Great British Bake Off judge's recipe produces a wonderful, rich traditional fruit cake that can be made up to three months in advance and fed with brandy until Christmas.
WATCH: Mary Berry dressed up in tinsel!
And it's likely a staple in her household! The 86-year-old TV chef previously told The Sunday Times: "I think to eat cake is very good for us, but it's the size of the slice and how often you have it." Christmas doesn't count though, right?
Mary Berry's Christmas cake recipe:
Preparation Time: 30 minutes plus overnight soaking, plus time to marzipan and ice the cake. Cooking Time: 4 ¾ hours, Serves: 18 – 20
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INGREDIENTS:
For the fruit:
- 100g red or natural glacé cherries
- 100g ready-to-eat dried Fairtrade apricots
- 275g currants
- 175g Fairtrade sultanas
- 175g Fairtrade raisins
- 50g finely chopped/candied peel
- ¼ level tsp freshly grated nutmeg
- ½ level tsp ground mixed spice 3 tbsp brandy
For the cake:
- 225g plain flour
- 225g softened butter
- 225g dark Fairtrade muscovado sugar
- 4 large Freedom Food eggs
- 50g chopped Fairtrade almonds
- 1 scant tbsp black treacle
- Grated rind of 1 Fairtrade lemon, grated rind of 1 Fairtrade orange
To finish:
- Brandy, to feed
- 675 g almond paste or marzipan
- 675 g fondant or ready-to-roll icing
To decorate:
- Almond paste (leftover from putting over the cake)
- Green food colouring/ribbon/holly or your favourite decorations
INSTRUCTIONS
Step 1
Begin this cake the night before you want to bake it. Cut the cherries into quarters, put in a sieve and rinse under running water. Drain well then dry thoroughly on kitchen paper. Snip the apricots into pieces. Measure the fruits into a large bowl, mix in the brandy, cover and leave in a cool place overnight.
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Step 2
Preheat the oven to 140°C / Fan 120°C / Gas 1. Grease a 20 cm (8 in) deep round cake tin, then line the base and sides with a double layer of baking parchment. Measure the flour, spices, butter, sugar, eggs, almonds, treacle and lemon and orange rinds into a large bowl. Beat well, then fold in the soaked fruits. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and spread out evenly with the back of a spoon. Cover the top of the cake loosely with a double layer of baking parchment. Bake in the preheated oven for about 4½–4¾ hours or until the cake feels firm to the touch and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave the cake to cool in the tin.
Step 3
When cool, pierce the cake at intervals with a fine skewer and feed with a little brandy. Wrap the completely cold cake in a double layer of baking parchment, and again in foil, and store in a cool place, feeding at intervals with more brandy. Don’t remove the lining parchment when storing as this helps to keep the cake moist. Cover the cake with almond paste about a week before icing.
Step 4
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Cover the cake with fondant or ready-to-roll icing. Colour the almond paste (leftover from putting the almond paste on to the cake) dark green. Roll out on a board that has been lightly sprinkled with icing sugar and cut into 2.5 cm (1 in) wide strips. Cut these into diamonds and then, with the base of an icing nozzle, remove half circles from the sides of the diamonds to give holly-shaped leaves. Make vein marks on the leaves with a sharp knife, bend the leaves over the handles of wooden spoons and leave to dry. Decorate the top of the cake with the almond-paste holly leaves and finish by tying a ribbon around the sides of the cake.
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