Christmas Cake is a traditional fruit cake with a rich, velvety texture that’s so full flavoured and moist it can be eaten plain. But no one turns away a slosh of custard! Usually Christmas Cakes need to be started the day before, with overnight soaking of dried fruit. But not mine!
For gifting, make Mini Christmas Cakes. They look adorable when wrapped!
Christmas Cake
I’m fussy about Christmas Cake because (speaking frankly) there are too many not-so-great-ones out there. Here’s how I like / don’t like my Christmas Cake:
With or without alcohol – cake has to be just as good with or without booze (I mostly make it without – so it can be widely shared!);
Not too much peel or citrus flavour – I’m just not a fan of biting into giant chunks of orange rind. I just like a subtle hint of citrus flavour;
Soft and velvety is how I like the texture to be when you slice through it – it’s how “good fruit cakes” should be. As opposed to “crumbly” with a muffin-like texture. I make muffins all year round, I don’t want my Christmas Cake like that!
Moist and fudgy – but still distinctly cake like, not brownie-like. Some cakes I tried to compare leading up to sharing this recipe were just far too dry.
Quite dense but NOT brick like! Some Christmas Cake recipes are WAY too dense, and you feel like you’re cutting into a block of firm fudge. No thank you!
Decorating is optional!! The cake should be tasty enough and moist enough to eat plain, without any frosting / fondant or custard.
So if that sounds good to you, then I think you’re really going to love this Christmas Cake!
This fruit cake uses a highly effective FAST fruit soaking method by heating in the microwave then soaking for just 1 hour. Works 100% perfectly!
What goes in Christmas Cake
You need a LOT of dried fruit and very little cake batter ingredients!!
1. Soaked Dried Fruit
Here’s what you need for the Soaked Dried Fruit. The fruit is soaked in either apple juice OR a combination of apple juice and brandy (for those who like boozy Christmas Cake).
Use any dried fruit you want – as long as it weighs 855g / 30 oz in total. You could even use a store bought mix of pre chopped dried fruit – but just know that chopping your own will yield a more moist cake (pre chopped is not as moist), but having said that, this cake is ULTRA moist so has the flex to use pre chopped!
Mixed peel is a store bought mix of dried, crystallised (ie sugared) lemon and orange peel. Usually it comes pre chopped – I like to chop it a bit finer. I like less citrus peel than some recipes because I’m too scarred by all those times I bit into a huge piece of orange peel. Just not to my taste! Don’t use FRESH orange and lemon peel, it will be too strong and too bitter. I do not know how much fresh peel to substitute this for.
Juice and/or booze – for a traditional boozy Christmas Cake, just switch 1/3 of the apple juice with brandy. Can also sub apple juice with orange juice if you want a stronger��citrus flavour.
2. Christmas Cake Batter
And here’s what you need for the cake batter part. The cake has very little baking powder because it’s quite a dense cake. But it’s still got a distinct “cake” texture – unlike some Christmas Cakes that are so dense, you’d swear you were eating a block of fudge!
Dark brown sugar – makes the cake a rich dark brown colour. Can sub with normal brown sugar – will make cake lighter (also looks nice as fruit stands out!)
Molasses / golden syrup – adds to the richness of flavour and colour of cake. Either is fine – I interchange year on year;
Walnuts – sub with any nuts of choice, or leave it out completely;
Oil AND butter – oil is what gives this cake a superb moistness. Butter is for flavour!
How to make Christmas Cake
And here’s how the making part goes down.
The key step that makes this so much faster to make than other fruit cakes is the fruit soaking step. Most recipes call for dried fruit to be soaked overnight.
I take a speedy approach: just microwave the dried fruit with juice and/or brandy, then stand for 1 hour to soak up the liquid. So much faster – and just as effective!
Other than that, there’s nothing unusual about how this fruit cake is made.
Because it’s a dense cake, it needs to be baked long and slow in order to cook it all the way through without drying out the edges and surface (without fussing with water baths). I bake it for 2 1/2 hours covered with foil, then another 30 to 45 minutes without foil to brown the surface (check with skewer to know when it’s cooked).
Christmas Cake Decoration ideas
A plain Christmas Cake does look like a big, dark brown block so it is nice to decorate it! Here are some ideas – but remember, it’s purely decorative. This fruit cake is full flavoured and very moist so unlike other cakes, you don’t need a frosting to make it ultra delish to eat!
Simple – just dust with icing sugar, or pile on cherries or other fruit and dust with icing sugar;
Christmas TREE decorations – yes, really. Inedible decorations is FINE!!
Drippy white glaze – use the recipe in this Lemon Cake with Drippy Glaze but skip the lemon in the glaze. Flip cake upside down for a perfectly level surface;
Traditional white fondant (pictured above) – I know some people really don’t like fondant. Too many bad wedding cake experiences!! But nowadays, store bought fondant is actually much nicer than it was in the past. It just tastes like a softish sheet of plain sweet frosting. See below the recipe card for a step by step visual of how to apply the white fondant on your Christmas Cake.
The cake in the photos is the 2nd time in my life I’ve used fondant. So if I can do it, you can do it too!
How to serve Christmas Cake
This Christmas Fruit Cake is rich and moist, with a ton of flavour from the fruit so it’s absolutely delish eaten plain. No frosting, no fondant – nothing needed – and it’s certainly how I pick away at the leftovers for weeks and weeks!
But if you really want to make it special, serve it with custard. Homemade custard, if you can. But if you opt for store bought, do my little pimping up trick – just stir in some vanilla bean paste. The little black specks gives it a little “extra special” look and it does wonders to freshen up the flavour too!
And lastly, you’ll be very happy to know this keeps for weeks and weeks! 3 months in the fridge, a year in the freezer.
Will yours last that long??! – Nagi x
PS How did I get all the way down to here without telling you where all my Christmas recipes live?? Right here -> Christmas Recipes
Watch how to make it
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Christmas Cake – EASY moist fruit cake
Ingredients
Fast soaked fruit (Note 1):
- 300g / 10 oz raisins
- 150g / 5 oz diced dried apricots , chopped 8 mm / 1/3"
- 75g / 2.5 oz mixed peel , diced 5mm / 1/5
- 150g / 5 oz glace cherries , chopped 8 mm / 1/3"
- 180g / 6 oz dates , diced 5mm / 1/5"
- 1 cup + 2 tbsp apple juice, OR 1/3 brandy + 2/3 juice (Note 2)
Cake:
- 120g / 8 tbsp unsalted butter , softened (1 US stick)
- 1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar , packed (Note 3)
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil (or canola, peanut, grapeseed)
- 3 tbsp molasses or golden syrup (Note 4)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp all spice
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 3 large eggs
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 2/3 cups plain flour (all purpose flour)
- 3/4 cup walnuts , chopped (optional)
For serving (optional)
- 500ml / 1 pint pouring custard , homemade or store bought (Note 5)
White Christmas Cake decoration, as pictured (optional)
- 250g / 8 oz "ready to roll" marzipan
- 250g / 8 oz "ready to roll" white fondant
- Cherries dusted with icing sugar
Other Decorating Options (optional)
- Cherries or other fruit dusted with icing sugar (on plain cake, looks very pretty!)
- Drippy white glaze (directions below)
Instructions
Fast Soaked Fruit:
- Place dried fruit and juice/brandy in a large microwavable container. Microwave 1 1/2 minutes on high or until hot.
- Stir to coat all fruit in liquid. Cover then set aside for 1 hour (to plump up/soak and cool).
Cake:
- Preheat oven to 160°C / 320°F (140°C fan). Grease and line a 21 – 22 cm / 8 – 9" round cake pan with baking paper (parchment paper) (7 cm / 2.75" tall).
- Using an electric beater, beat butter and sugar until smooth and creamy (about 1 minute on speed 5).
- Add oil and molasses, beat until combined.
- Add salt, spices and baking powder – beat until incorporated.
- Add eggs, one at a time, beating until just incorporated
- Stir in the flour.
- When mostly incorporated, stir in the fruit mix (including all the extra liquid in bowl) and walnuts (if using).
- Pour into cake pan, cover with foil and bake for 2 1/2 hours. Remove the foil then bake for another 30 to 45 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into middle comes out clean with no batter on it (check first at 30 minutes).
- Remove from oven and cool for 20 minutes before transferring to cooling rack. Cool completely before serving.
- Cake is moist and so full flavoured, it can be eaten plain. But see below for decorating and serving ideas (traditionally served with pouring custard).
- Cutting: Either cut into thin wedges, or cut cake into thin strips (2cm / 0.75" or so), then cut those strips into serving size pieces.
Christmas Cake Decorating options:
- Traditional White Christmas Cake (pictured in post) – Marzipan and fondant, see Decorating Note.
- Simple – pile top with fresh cherries or other fruit, dust with icing sugar (powdered sugar). Wrap a ribbon around the cake for extra touch!
- Drippy white glaze – use the glaze in this Lemon Cake recipe, but leave out the lemon juice (ie make a plain sweet white glaze). Flip cake upside down for flat surface then glaze per that recipe.
- Serving – serve with custard for a traditional experience! Either homemade custard or store bought pouring custard (jazz it up by mixing in vanilla seed paste!).
Recipe Notes:
- Best to use a cake turntable or similar (I used a small lazy susan!)
- Marzipan layer mainly for creating perfect smooth surface for fondant layer.
- Dust work surface with icing sugar. Shape marzipan into a disc then roll out so it’s large enough to cover cake and sides (250g/8oz marzipan covers this cake perfectly with some excess).
- Roll marzipan onto rolling pin, then unroll it over the cake.
- Drape over cake, stretching and pressing to cover sides with as few pleats as possible. Use wet table eating knife to smooth pleats, doesn’t need to look perfect – this is Layer 1 to smooth cake, plus also for the subtle almond flavour.
- Use something with a clean edge but not as sharp as a knife (I used a cake server).
- Press on a 45 degree angle on side of cake about 2.5 cm / 1″ apart all around the cake, then 45 degrees in the opposite direction to create “diamond”.
- Dip the blunt end of a wooden skewer into water, then press a light indent into fondant on intersection of diamond.
- Then press in a silver ball (water makes it stick). Repeat all around.
- Top with cherries, dusting with icing sugar, give it a grand spin to admire your work and serve!
Nutrition Information:
Originally published December 2019. Republished December 2020 – no change to recipe, just tidied up some of the writing!
How to ice Christmas Cake with fondant
The pictured cake in this post is decorated with a layer of marzipan (almond flavoured frosting) then topped with white fondant. This combination of marzipan + fondant is a traditional way to decorate Christmas Cake. Marzipan is for flavour and also to create a smooth surface for the fondant.
A visual of the steps is included in the recipe video above the recipe card, and below in photos.
What you need
250g / 8oz of each “ready to roll” marzipan and white fondant, sold in the baking aisle of grocery stores.
How to apply marzipan and fondant to Christmas Cake
Use a cake turn table, if you have one. I used a lazy susan!
Dust work surface with icing sugar (powdered sugar) and shape marzipan into a disc;
Roll marzipan out so it’s large enough to cover the sides of the cake;
Roll the marzipan lightly around the rolling pin (best way to handle because marzipan is prone to tearing, can’t pick it up);
Then unroll it over the cake;
Gently press down around the sides, making it as smooth as possible and stretching / adjusting as needed to avoid “pleats”. Don’t get too hung up about perfection here – this layer is to create a smooth surface for the fondant layer;
Trim off excess using a knife;
Roll out fondant the same way as the marzipan, including rolling it around the rolling pin to transfer to the cake;
Unroll over the cake, then gently press down the side of the cake, stretching gently as needed to make it fit with no pleats.
TIP: If you have cracks / crevices / tears, just wet a table knife then use it to “smear” the fondant to seal the cracks. Use small pinches of surplus fondant if needed.
How to decorate side of cake
Here’s how I decorated the side of the cake:
Use something with a clean edge but not as sharp as a knife (I used a cake server).
Press on a 45 degree angle on side of cake about 2.5 cm / 1″ apart all around the cake;
Then 45 degrees in the opposite direction to create “diamond”;
Dip the blunt end of a wooden skewer into water, then press a light indent into fondant on intersection of diamond. Then press in a silver ball (water makes it stick). Repeat all around; and
Top with cherries, dusting with icing sugar, give it a grand spin to admire your work and serve!
Life of Dozer
Too much Christmas cheer – and not enough cake, according to him! No Christmas Cake for Dozer. Dried fruit is bad for dogs!
Hi Nagi! I’m making this today looks so yummy! I don’t have any mixed peel, do you think I could add grated lemon and orange peel? In the past, I have melted a couple tbs of apricot jam and brushed over the cooled cake before I added the marzipan layer xxx will
Let you know how the cake turns out today! 🤩
Hi Debbie, a bit of grated citrus peel would be great here! Love the idea with the jam! Enjoy! – N x
I recently tried a muffin recipe that called for canola oil. YUCK! I could taste the oil in every bite (not a good taste). What kind of oil would you suggest for this cake? Thanks. Love Dozer! I have 2 goldens myself.
Hi Susan, any vegetable, canola, grapeseed or even peanut oil will work fine here – N x
And cherry on the top, Yummi! Love walnuts in it but no icing for meLove to brushed generously with home made kumquat Marmelad it’s beet buzzy. First would made kumquat liquor than reuse fruit which I would minced than make Marmelade ,yum.and good ice cream. Nagi good idea keep Dozer in door.
Sounds divine Vera!!!
Well done with Dozer…reports are saying the smoke is the same as 37 cigarettes a day!!
Thats CRAZY!!!
Love your recipes Nagi and I really like this recipe too – a bit like a boiled fruit cake, quick and easy and delicious. I always put prunes in my fruit cakes as well as dates, because of the moisture content of prunes, and if I’ve got some dried figs, a couple of those go in too. (Spray scissors with oil to cut up apricots, prunes, figs etc) A good moist fruit cake doubles very well for Christmas pudding too and my family has always served the pudding with Sweet White Sauce, made with a big dash of condensed milk at the end. My son says he could drink that stuff. It seems to help children eat some of the pudding – a little piece of pudding and half a bowl of sauce with no ‘seconds’ if the pudding hasn’t been eaten.
It’s so funny you mention that, I was going to see if this recipe would double as a pudding recipe! If it does, I might share it next year 🙂 Love the tip on dried figs, didn’t think of that! N x
I’m thinking about baking it in the pressure cooker like a steamed pudding. What do you think? Will serve with “hard sauce” , my mom’s recipe.
Just finished fire season here, but they burn all winter even after the snow has fallen.
Hi PattiAnn! It’s interesting you mention that – a few years ago, I went on a “no oven” cake bender (for a friend getting married by a river, I made a 4 tier chocolate cake with no oven!). What I found was the practically every cake I tried to cook by way of “steaming” it in a large pot (elevated above the water using rocks) not only worked out 100% (albeit took longer to cook), they were SO moist compared to oven baking. On that basis, and because this batter is so thick, I am 99% sure it will work in a pressure cooker but I don’t want to make promises because I haven’t tried it! N x
Thanks for your reply. I’m going to try it & will let you know how it turns out. Will make it closer to Christmas. Steaming a cake over hot rocks?!! Wow you are amazing!
I’m so glad that I wasn’t the only one thinking this! I have made denser moist cakes in my Instant Pot and have infused cherries with brandy in the past. Might be interesting to try!
Gorgeous cake!
Thank you Mary! N xx
Very sorry about the brush fires — when the Everglades burns, Miami gets the same, smoke and ashes. Prayers to all for safety —
And, you are a dream come true for posting this Christmas cake recipe! I’m going to try my hand at it this year! My ancient Auntie made “fruitcake” for our family at Christmastime for years, BUT she did NOT share her recipe!!!! Seriously, how could she!! Her recipe went to heaven with her!
That said, I’ve never had enough faith in cookbook recipes to bother with the effort, but I KNOW yours will be fabulous — will start collecting the ingredients and will use brandy only because she did so as to keep that much of the tradition going! THANK YOU SO MUCH!
You’re so welcome Nadine! PS your Auntie taking the recipe with her. Why do you think I MADE my mother start her Japanese food website? 😂
G’Day Nagi
I love this cake miss my traditional fruit cake here in the USA I always serve my Christmas cake with a slice of cheddar cheese an old Yorkshire customer. Merry Christmas. June
*CHEESE??!!* (She shouts in disbelief??) 😂
Hi Nagi,
I’m an avid fan of your recipes! Just wanted to ask, how long would you say it would stay moist for and how would you store it if you were to give it as gifts? I’m thinking of making it to give as gifts for friends.
Also, how long would you cook it for in a loaf pan?
Thanks.
Hi Nagi,
I am concerned it will bake too long and become hard and dry. How to avoid?
Thank you!
Hi Karen! No need to be concerned – firstly, it’s an incredible dense and moist batter because of all the fruit and the oil. Secondly, the foil keeps it protected – when you take the foil off after 2.5 hours in the oven, you will probably be DOUBTING me because the batter on the surface still looks mostly uncooked. And at this point, you will know it’s not going to become hard and dry! N x
Nagi such a lovely recipe and I can’t wait to make it. Can you tell me what temperature to set the oven for cooking the cake for three hours and fifteen minutes? Thank you
Hi Janine! 160°C / 320°F (140°C fan) 🙂 In Step 1 under “Baking Cake” N x
Hello Nagi, this Christmas cake reminds me of the one my mom used to bake.
What fruits do you use for the mixed peel? Is it fresh peel or the one that is sold crystalized?
Thanks for the question Regina! It’s crystallised lemon and orange, not fresh 🙂 I’ve updated the recipe! N x
I just wanted to tell you how sorry I am to hear about your fires. They are so devastating to humans and animals alike. We have them frequently in the western United States and they are beyond description or understanding. God bless you and keep you safe.
Hi Alexandra! I remember the terrible fires in California earlier this year. Apparently, we sent over some of our water bombing craft and that was one of the reason some early fires that are still burning out of control spread faster 🙁 I hear now there are American fire fighters here helping out our fire fighters. Hearing that warmed my heart. N x
I hope you and Dozer are doing well and haven’t been too adversely affected by the fires. A good barometer is Dozer’s appetite! I love all your amazing recipes, You are a wonder.
Your cake looks very tall -when you say 8 or 9” pan is it 2” tall?
Hi Jennifer! It is 7 cm / 2.75″ tall, a standard size spring form cake pan 🙂 Thank you for the question, I will update the recipe! N x
Hi Nagi,
I’m new to baking. You said to use 1 part brand 2 parts juice. Is that 1 cup brandy and 2 tbls juice?
Hi Denise! I mean 1/3 cup brandy, plus 2/3 cup + 2 tbsp juice 🙂 I will update the recipe! N xx
Thank you for sharing this recipe. I make a very old family recipe Christmas cake every year, but with my husbands birthday 2 weeks before Christmas and the cake not ready to cut (and fruit cake being his absolute favourite) I’m going to make this for his birthday this weekend 🙂 can’t want to try it, it sounds amazing.
Oooh! I hope he loves it, I feel the pressure! 😂 N x
It’s in the oven as I type this, and I just had to write as the batter tasted delicious (lol couldn’t help myself), we will be eating it tomorrow, can’t wait!
Well we couldn’t wait so had a “birthday eve” slice of this wonderful cake. It’s delicious! So good to have a fruit cake recipe that can be made in a day. Thank you!
Nagi, this looks awesome, but I’m wondering if it could be converted to make small individual little Bundt pans that I have (for neighbors gifting) and If it can, what would the suggested baking time be?
Absolutely Elaine! I don’t know how big your bundt pans are, but as a guide, cupcakes take around 45 minutes at the same temperature. Covered for 20 minutes then uncovered for 25 minutes to brown the top. use the skewer test to check! N x
In Lancashire UK we traditionally eat uniced Christmas cake with a chunk of good cheese. Just thought that I’d throw the idea out there, it’s really good😁
WOAH. HOW have I never heard to this????!!!
Hi Nagi just saw this. I soaked a kilo of mixed fruit in about
2 1/2 small bottle of essences and about 2 Tblsp of brandy. With no recipe in mind yrt. How can i adapt the recipe please. It sounds yummy and conveniently quick. Also can one keep dried fruit mix over the used buy date if still tastes and looks good? Thank you
Hi Emj! Just use 855g of your soaked mixed fruit for this recipe. I don’t know how much soaking liquid you used so if, at the end, your batter looks too thick compared to mine (see video), then add a bit more of your soaking liquid until you achieve a thick pourable consistency! N x
Thank you Nagi..so glad i saw this speedy cake!!
Thank you so much Nagi….best Christmas Cake ever
That’s a very big compliment Liz, thank you! N x