Never too late Christmas cake
Are you a Christmas cake procrastinator? Do you start every festive season intending to make a gloriously boozy, fruit-packed cake, the kind that you make on Labour Day and put away to beautifully age? Only to realise it's nearly December already and you don’t have so much as a single raisin in the house or the correct sized tin? Or the will to lift more than a wine glass because you’re so done-in by the year? You’re in good company. Sometimes even thinking about making The Full Catastrophe fruit cake makes US age, nevermind the cake. We so often we miss the Xmas cake deadline and when that happens, our Last-Minute Christmas Cake becomes a lifesaver. Forget the usual rigmarole of making a cake months in advance, dousing it with brandy every week, and worrying whether it's maturing just right. This is one fuss-free, fabulous specimen and it’s ready in a fraction of the time.
The trick? It all happens in a big saucepan. That’s right – no need for endless bowls or hefty mixers. You just melt some butter with dried fruits, sugar, orange juice, ginger beer, and a splash of brandy (or rum if that’s more your speed), then let everything cool. Next, you stir in the flour, spices, eggs, and a dash of cocoa to deepen the flavour, then plop it all into your prepared tin. Speaking of tins, you need to line your cake tin like you mean it – three layers of baking paper, please – because this cake likes a long, slow bake, and if you don’t insulate the cake using enough paper, you might burn its bum.
You don’t need to be a decorating whiz with this cake either. Instead of farting around with rolling pins, almond icing and royal icing, the blanched almonds on top will make your cake look a million bucks. Too. Bloody. Easy.
MAKES 1 x 21CM CAKE
1 orange
60ml (¼ cup) brandy or rum
ginger beer
1.2kg (about 7 cups) mixed dried fruits, (raisins, pitted prunes, figs, currants) large pieces chopped
250g unsalted butter, chopped
220g (1 cup) caster sugar
300g (2 cups) self-raising flour
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground nutmeg
¼ tsp ground cloves
2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
2 tbsp cocoa
4 eggs, beaten well
1½ tsp vanilla extract
160g (1 cup) blanched almonds, approximately, to decorate
Finely grate the orange and set 1 tbsp of the zest aside. Halve the orange, then squeeze the juice into a measuring jug with the brandy. Add enough ginger beer to make the liquid up to 375ml (1½ cups), then combine the liquid with the dried fruits, butter and sugar in a large saucepan. Place over medium heat and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar and melt the butter. Stir to combine well, then remove from the heat and cool.
While the fruit mixture is cooling, preheat the oven to 140˚C, fan-forced. Line the base and side of a deep, 21cm cake tin with 3 layers of baking paper.
Sift the flour, ground spices and cocoa into a bowl. Stir the egg, vanilla and reserved orange zest into the fruit mixture, then add the flour mixture and stir to combine well. Pour the cake batter into the lined tin, smoothing the surface even. Decorate the top with blanched almonds, then bake the cake for 3-3½ hours, or until a cake tester withdraws clean. Cool the cake in the tin, then turn out. Wrap well in plastic wrap until needed; the cake will keep for up to 10 days.
