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The best Christmas cake for 2024
These are the best shop-bought Christmas bakes, as judged by the Good Housekeeping Institute
Tested by Callum BlackFood and Drink Testing Manager
You may feel the pressure to make your own Christmas cake, but with so many brilliant ready-made bakes to buy this year, it could be time to step away from the mixing bowl.
We’ve been busy tasting slice after slice to find the best Christmas cakes for your celebration – here they are in a handy list but keep scrolling for all the details.
Best Christmas cake 2024
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Fitzbillies Cambridge Iced fruit Christmas Cake 950g
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We’ve found a stunning selection of iced cakes to try. Some come beautifully decorated – perfect for serving straight out of the pack – while others are simply iced, ready for you to adorn with additional flourishes yourself (so you can always pretend you made it yourself...)
Regardless, you’re in safe hands here – the Good Housekeeping Institute has been testing Christmas cakes for over 20 years, so our experts know exactly what they’re looking for. Our criteria? Rich, sweet and perfectly spiced cakes filled with plump fruits, a good splash of booze and just the right ratio of marzipan to icing.
The traditional Christmas dessert tends to be quite rich, so we would suggest serving alongside a cup of tea for elevenses, or later in the afternoon.
How we test Christmas cake
The Good Housekeeping Institute presented the panel (a mix of experts and consumers) with 17 Christmas cakes in a bid to find the tastiest one for 2024. They tried cakes from a mix of supermarkets and smaller independent shops, with each one tasted blind to avoid brand bias and served as suggested. They were looking for well-balanced bakes with classic festive flavours.
These are the cakes that ticked all the right boxes.
Score: 85/100
Biscuiteers’ bake is full of festive flavour, thanks to the warming cinnamon, sweet citrus, and a generous layer of marzipan icing. The texture is “spot on” according to our testers – densely packed with soft cherries and almond slivers for crunch — and it slices neatly without crumbling.
Score: 85/100
Brown sugar sweetness and warm spices filled the testing kitchen when tucking into this organic Christmas cake. Each bite is crammed with tart vine fruits, nutty marzipan, and a whiff of warming brandy.
Score: 81/100
Looking for an ultra-traditional Christmas cake? You’re in the right place. The sponge in this Iceland offering has a deep treacle note, without being overly sweet, while the icing and nutty marzipan add interest.
Score: 81/100
Expect a hearty dose of well-integrated brandy, combined with mixed spice, cherries, raisins and crunchy nuts, making for a deliciously aromatic cake. Fresh-tasting marzipan marries all the components together, and all for a great price.
Score: 80/100
Topped with a scene depicting Cambridge’s King’s College Chapel, this one certainly looks the part. The flavour is every bit as classic, but very well executed, with a thick layer of sweet icing, plenty of rum, and a full-flavoured nutty sponge cake, brimming with glacé cherries.
Score: 79/100
Hand-decorated (just not by you!), Waitrose’s festive cake delivers a powerful thwack of brandy, with apricot purée adding interest. Both complement the naturally sweet vine fruit, classic marzipan and firm layer of icing.
Score: 78/100
With a generous fruit content, zippy citrus, sweet icing and marzipan, this cake is a real taste of Christmas. The spice really stands out — think warm cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg — alongside a pleasing undercurrent of brandy.
Score: 78/100
Lidl’s deep, dense fruit cake is great value and would benefit from a good cup of tea on the side. Testers enjoyed the hint of bitterness and low level of sweetness too, with plenty of booze-spiked fruit throughout.
Harvey Nichols Mini Top Iced Christmas Cake With Indented Star 140g
Score: 78/100
If you’re the only one in the family who still insists on a traditional Christmas cake, why not opt for this individual iced bake? What it lacks in size, it more than makes up for in flavour, with punchy ginger and cinnamon complementing the vine fruit, nuts and marzipan.
These also passed...
- Morrisons The Best Fully Iced Christmas Cake, £12 for 900g, Score: 76/100
- Selfridges Iced Christmas Cake Tin, £19.99 for 575g, Score: 76/100
- Meg Rivers Limited Edition Pine Cone Christmas Cake, £48 for 2kg , Score: 75/100
- Cartwright and Butler Iced Christmas Cake in Round Tin, £20 for 700g, Score: 72/100
- Bettys Soft Iced Christmas Tree Fruit Cake, £46.25 for 1.5kg, Score: 70/100
Stacey looks after all food and drink reviews — from coffee pods and veg boxes, to natural wine and tequila. Stacey is also founder of Crummbs, where she’s written nearly 2,000 restaurant and hotel reviews since 2013. Prior to this, Stacey wrote hundreds of in-depth buying guides for the Independent, i newspaper and BBC Good Food, as well as reviewing restaurants and interviewing celebrities in her column at Balance Magazine. Stacey has also appeared in BAFTA-nominated BBC documentary Blood, Sweat & Takeaways, where she investigated South East Asia's food production industry, appearing on both Newsnight and BBC World Service to share her findings. Regularly checking out the latest restaurants, bars and product launches, Stacey also loves experimenting with recipes at home, and is a WSET-certified wine and spirits expert, with over 10 years of experience in the business. You can follow Stacey on Instagram @crummbs_uk
Millie is freelance journalist and editor with five years’ experience writing product reviews, buying guides, breaking news and about the latest trends.
Millie has also reviewed countless restaurants and written travel features for British GQ, The Telegraph and the Independent, and has interviewed a number of leading chefs, including Jamie Oliver, Heston Blumenthal and Raymond Blanc.
Founder of creative catering brand @grazeandgorge, Millie also spends her time creating seasonal recipes and tablescape content, as well as planning her next golden retriever-friendly getaway and rearranging her own home bar cart (... again).
Callum is our Food and Drink Testing Manager and has been part of the world of professional catering for 10 years, from cheffing to food manufacturing. While working in manufacturing he specialised in bespoke product and menu development for several start-ups and well-known brands such as Wrap It Up! and HOP Vietnamese. He holds the WSET Level 2 in wine, a Level 3 in spirits and has a particular interest in agave spirits.
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