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Total Time:
3 hrs 15 mins
For the cake - 18cm (7in) round cake
1 level tbsp whole cardamom pods
- 175 g
(6oz) unsalted butter
- 225 g
(8oz) light muscovado sugar
- 750 g
(1lb 10oz) luxury mixed dried fruit
Grated zest and juice of 1 orange
- 100 ml
(31⁄2fl oz) sweet sherry or Marsala
2 level tsp ground allspice
75g (3oz) almonds, chopped
- 75 g
(3oz) ground almonds
- 3
large eggs
- 225 g
(8oz) plain flour
For the decorating
Fresh or frozen cranberries
Sprigs of fresh bay leaves
Extra icing sugar, to dust
For the cake - 18cm (7in) round cake
- Step 1
Crush the cardamom pods using a pestle and mortar to release the seeds. Discard the pods and grind the seeds until they look like coarsely ground black pepper. (Alternatively, crush in a bowl using the end of a rolling pin.) Put the butter, sugar, dried fruit, orange zest and juice, sherry or Marsala, cardamom seeds and allspice in a large heavy-based pan and bring slowly to the boil, stirring until butter has melted. Reduce heat and simmer for 10min, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and leave to cool for 30min.
- Step 2
Preheat the oven to 150°C (130°C fan oven) mark 2 and grease and line a cake tin with greaseproof paper (see chart above).
- Step 3
Add the chopped and ground almonds to the pan with the eggs and stir until combined. Sift the flour into the pan and mix well. Spoon mixture into the tin and level off with a palette knife.
- Step 4
Bake for the time stated in the chart above or until cake is dark golden and firm to the touch. It’s cooked when a fine skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Put on a wire rack and leave to cool in the tin. Remove from the tin.
For the decorating
- Step 1
To make the almond paste, mix together the ground almonds, caster and icing sugars in a large bowl. Add the lemon zest, almond extract and egg whites and mix to a firm paste, using your hands if you find it easier. Knead very lightly until smooth, then wrap securely in clingfilm and chill for at least 1hr.
- Step 2
If the fruit cake has risen a lot in the middle, use a large knife to level off the surface. Turn it over so the bottom of the cake is now the top and put on a board or serving plate. Heat the apricot jam in a small pan with 1tbsp water until melted, stirring from time to time. Brush over the top and sides of the cake.
- Step 3
On a surface heavily dusted with sifted cornflour, roll out the almond paste to a round, about 13cm (5½in) larger than the diameter of the cake. Lift the paste over the cake and use your hands to ease the paste to fit around the sides, trimming off any excess around the base. Cover with greaseproof paper and leave in a cool place overnight for the paste to dry out.
- Step 4
For the icing, put the egg whites in a large clean bowl and whisk lightly with a freestanding mixer until slightly frothy. Add the lemon juice, glycerine and a little of the icing sugar and whisk until smooth. Continue whisking in the icing sugar, a little at a time, until the icing is smooth and softly peaking. To prevent a crust forming, keep the bowl covered with clingfilm until ready to use.
- Step 5
When ready, spoon the icing on top of the cake and use a palette knife to spread it over the top and sides in an even layer, swirling the icing with the knife to give a textured finish.
- Step 6
If using frozen cranberries, thaw and leave on a double sheet of kitchen paper for about 20min to soak up excess moisture and avoid staining the icing. Wash and dry the bay leaves thoroughly. Snip off leaves in clusters of two or three and arrange on top of the cake with the cranberries. Dust lightly with icing sugar.
Other Christmas cake recipes to try:
The best Christmas cake recipes
Chocolate cherry Christmas cake
How to make Christmas cake
The best supermarket Christmas cakes
Cook's tips
The apricot jam is easier to spread over the cake if it has been warmed through first.
Give yourself plenty of icing to work with when you start spreading it over the cake.
To store: Peel off the lining paper, wrap the cake in greaseproof paper, then in foil and store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place for up to eight weeks. (This cake is quite moist and won't need feeding with more alcohol.)
Per Serving:
- Calories: 500
- Total carbs: 85 g
- Total fat: 18 g
An experienced and highly skilled team of food writers, stylists and digital content producers, the Good Housekeeping Cookery Team is a close-knit squad of food obsessives. Cookery Editor Emma Franklin is our resident chilli obsessive and barbecue expert, who spends an inordinate amount of time on holidays poking round the local supermarkets seeking out new and exciting foods. Senior Cookery Writer Alice Shields is a former pastry chef and baking fanatic who loves making bread and would have peanut butter with everything if she could. Her favourite carb is pasta, and our vibrant green spaghetti is her weeknight go-to. Lover of all things savoury, Senior Cookery Writer Grace Evans can be found eating crispy corn and nocellara olives at every opportunity, and will take the cheeseboard over dessert any time (though she cannot resist a slice of tres leches cake). With a wealth of professional kitchen know-how, culinary training and years of experience between them, they are all dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work (and if they don’t – we’ll have the answer for why*) every time (*90% of the time the answer is: “buy an separate oven thermometer”!).
