Emily Jonzen is a London-based food stylist and recipe writer with almost ten years of experience working on books, magazines, packaging, advertising and television projects.
See more of Emily Jonzen’s recipes
Emily Jonzen
Emily Jonzen is a London-based food stylist and recipe writer with almost ten years of experience working on books, magazines, packaging, advertising and television projects.
See more of Emily Jonzen’s recipes
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Ingredients
2 x 125g packs dried morello cherries
300g mixed sultanas and jumbo raisins
250g dried prunes, diced
200g glacé cherries, roughly chopped
zest and juice of 2 oranges
175ml amaretto liqueur, plus extra to feed
100g flaked almonds
250g soft butter, plus extra to grease
200g light brown sugar
4 medium eggs
150g plain flour
2 tsp ground mixed spice
2 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground nutmeg
100g ground almonds
1 tsp vanilla extract
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Step by step
Put the dried fruit, glacé cherries and orange zest and juice into a large pan and stir over a medium heat for 2-3 minutes, until the juice begins to bubble. Remove from the heat, stir through the amaretto and cover. Leave for 2 hours or overnight, for the fruit to plump up.
Preheat the oven to 140°C, fan 120°C, gas 1. Spread out the flaked almonds on a baking tray and toast in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until golden; leave to cool. Grease and line a deep 20cm, loose-based cake tin with a double layer of baking paper, making sure that it comes up at least 4cm above the top of the tin. Wrap the outside of the tin in a couple of sheets of newspaper and secure with kitchen string. Cut another sheet of baking paper to cover the top, cutting a small circle in the centre for steam to escape during baking.
In your largest mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until light and creamy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then sift over the flour and spices plus a pinch of salt. Tip in the ground and toasted almonds, the vanilla and the soaked fruits along with any liquid from the pan. Gently fold everything together, until just combined. Scrape the mixture into the prepared tin, making a dent in the centre of the mixture (to help create a flat top during baking).
Cover the top with the prepared baking paper and bake for about 3½ hours, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out almost clean (it may be slightly sticky but shouldn’t have any uncooked mixture on it). Leave to cool in the tin for 30 minutes, then invert onto a cooling rack, removing the base and baking paper. Once cool, wrap in a double layer of baking paper, then in a layer of foil, and keep in a cool, dark place. The wrapped cake keeps for up to 3 months.
If you want to feed the cake with extra amaretto, poke a few holes in the top of the cake with a co*cktail stick and feed with 1 tablespoon of amaretto every week or two. If you’re going to marzipan and ice the cake, stop feeding it at least a week beforehand, to let the surface dry out.
Adaptations to try
Skip the booze and make an alcohol-free cake using apple or orange juice instead of amaretto, and add 2 tsp almond extract if you still want that rich almond flavour.
You can use pretty much any combination of dried fruit that you like in the cake, as long as it adds up to the same total weight.
The amaretto can be subbed with whatever’s already in your drinks store: fruit-flavoured liqueurs, sherry, port or brandy, rum or whisky.
Use up any combination of unsalted nuts that are hanging around in your cupboard; sniff and taste to make sure they aren’t stale, then toast in the oven to bring out their flavour.
Don’t worry if you don’t have light brown sugar; you can use any type (other than icing sugar or jam sugar); the darker the colour, the deeper the flavour it adds to the cake.
Most people use brandy. I think this tastes better. This cake does NOT need to mature for weeks to taste gorgeous - 6 days from start to finish is as much time as you need. Although, if you prefer a more leisurely pace, that also works.
Occasion: Christmas cakes are specifically made for the Christmas holiday and are often decorated elaborately with festive designs, icing, and marzipan. Fruit cakes, on the other hand, can be enjoyed throughout the year and are not necessarily associated with any particular holiday.
What is the best alcohol to put in a Christmas cake? A reasonably strong spirit (such as whisky, rum or brandy) with a warm, fiery flavour or a sweet liqueur (such as cherry brandy or amaretto - NOT a cream liqueur) will compliment the flavour of the cake, and help to preserve the cake, so it will keep for longer.
You can use rum, brandy or whisky for spice, or if you like citrus flavours, try an orange liqueur. Cherry brandy and amaretto will also work well if you prefer these.
Evenly pour 1.5 - 2 ounces of your favorite bourbon, rum, brandy, or cognac, over the fruitcake. For a quick way to measure, use a standard-sized shot glass. Take care to pour slowly, allowing the liquor to absorb into the cake with minimal runoff.
You can soak the fruit for days (or weeks) by adding alcohol and mixing as you go, allowing the dried fruit to soak up all the liquid. We do this by adding alcohol (or fruit juice or even a mix) bit by bit until the fruit is plump, or you can just soak overnight and add the rest of the alcohol after the cake is baked.
Adding alcohol to a Christmas cake after it has been baked is known as "feeding" the cake. It has two main functions; the first is to add moisture to the cake and the second is to help to preserve the cake. Usually you would feed the cake only once or twice per week as the cake will not absorb the liquid that quickly.
It was an expression that to call women over the age of 25 "Christmas cake," meaning that they are out of season, as the cake is after December 25th. Now the age is raised to 31, linked to toshikoshi-soba, a noodle dish eaten on December 31st.
Might just give one last go this week then leave it til ready to ice it. I overfed mine last year. It tasted fine (I love a boozy cake!) but it was very very soggy.
Chemistry wise, You could substitute any high proof basic alcohol. Whiskey, rum, cognac, gin, vodka. In some cases lower proof would also work. Wine, vermouth.
With its slightly sweet taste, bourbon is a suitable substitute for brandy in making your favorite fruit cake, chocolate cake, and other desserts and some savory dishes. You simply need to use the same amount of bourbon as what your recipe requires for brandy.
You might recognize this statement: All Cognac is Brandy, but not all Brandy is Cognac. Cognac, arguably the most known and popular style of Brandy, is made in the Cognac region of France.
If a co*cktail calls for “brandy,” you can always use something more specific, like Cognac or Armagnac from France. If you don't have access to those, a 50/50 split of American Whisky and Aged Rum could be delicious.
Introduction: My name is Eusebia Nader, I am a encouraging, brainy, lively, nice, famous, healthy, clever person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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Prep time: 45 mins
