Nothing like a rich Christmas cake to evoke the spirit of Christmas!

Being in Asia, it is either impossible or expensive to buy some of the key ingredients for the traditional Christmas cake, so my friend Jane and I modified the classical recipe slightly. I also used more fruit and more alcohol to prevent mould from growing (since I am in a tropical country):

2lbs dried cranberries
12oz sultanas
12oz raisins
4oz glace cherries
4oz candied ginger
An eighth a bottle of Cointreau, to soak the fruits in
1lb wholemeal flour (I like the heaviness)
1/2 tsp salt
1tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1tsp mixed spice
4oz almonds
1lb soft brown sugar
3 tbsp treacle
1lb unsalted butter
8 eggs
2 oranges, rind grated (careful not to add the white bits)
2 lemons, rind grated (careful not to add the white bits)

The easy method:

Soak the fruits the night before. If you are teetotal, use orange juice though the cake won’t taste the same obviously and will probably not last that long.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Carefully grease and line the baking tin with parchment paper (the quantities above will yield a 11 inch cake).

Cream the butter and sugar.

FOLD in the flour and the other powder stuff, alternating with the beaten eggs. Don’t beat it, or the mixture will trap air.

Add the rest of the ingredients and mix thoroughly. Transfer to cake tin. Cover with more parchment paper and bake for approximately 4 hours, until it is cooked through.

Cool in a wine rack. Once every three days or so, feed the cake with Cointreau until Christmas. If you smash one by accident, they taste good as rum balls.

The mixture is soooo tasty raw!! You can see the goodies that went into each cake ❤