I was asked a lot last Christmas if I had a Christmas loaf cake so I wanted to make sure I made one for this year!
It's based on my usual Christmas cake recipe that I have been making for years. It can be made at the last minute and still tastes delicious or you can make it in advance and feed it with brandy until you are ready to decorate.
You can decorate the top of the cake as you like, it doesn't have to be traditional. I used gold stars on mine for a simple classic look.
You can add any decorations you like or simply tie some ribbon round it.
Start by weighing the fruit and cherries into a large bowl, add the brandy then mix together.
Cover with cling film. Leave for 2-3 days to soak.
When ready to bake the cake Preheat the oven to 140 degrees centigrade (120 fan) then grease and line a 2lb loaf tin.
In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs gradually alternating with the flour so the mixture doesn’t curdle.
Finally add the soaked fruit and mix until it is all combined.
Put the mixture into the lined tin and level with a spatula.
Bake for 4 hours or until a skewer comes out clean, then leave to cool in the tin.
Once it is cool don’t remove the baking parchment as this keeps the cake moist. Wrap fully in more parchment and then in foil and store in a cool dry place.
Each week feed the cake with 1 tablespoon of brandy.
A week after you have baked the cake unwrap it and prick the top of the cake with a skewer and put a tablespoon of brandy over the surface. Then re-wrap and repeat every week up until the week before you are ready to decorate.
To decorate:
Put the cake on a plate or cake stand and then brush the top of the cake with warmed apricot jam.
Roll out an oblong of marzipan using a fondant roller (dust the surface with icing sugar) slightly bigger than the top of the cake.
Place the marzipan on top of the jam on the cake.
Smooth the top with a smoothing tool, then trim the edges with a sharp knife.
Roll out the fondant icing to the same size as the marzipan using a fondant roller.
Brush the marzipan with water and place the fondant on the top. Smooth the surface with a smoothing tool.
Trim the edges as before.
Cut out shapes with the remaining icing and decorate the cake as you wish.
I cut out tiny stars using these cutters, then sprayed them with edible glitter.
I brushed cold water on the top and placed the stars randomly over the top.
You could add ribbon or ready made decorations if you like.
Christmas Loaf Cake
Sarah's servings: 12
Sarah's skill: Medium
Baking time: 4 hours
Ingredients:
500g Mixed dried fruit
75g Glacé cherries (quartered)
75ml Brandy or Rum
150g Soft unsalted Butter
150g Light brown sugar
3 Large eggs
150g Plain flour
300g Marzipan
300g Fondant Icing + extra for decorations
2 Tbsp Apricot Jam
Method:
Weigh the fruit and cherries into a large bowl and add the alcohol and cover with cling film. Leave for 2-3 days to soak.
When ready to bake the cake Preheat the oven to 140 degrees centigrade (120 fan) then grease and line a 2lb loaf tin.
In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs gradually alternating with the flour so the mixture doesn’t curdle.
Finally add the soaked fruit and mix until it is all combined.
Put the mixture into the lined loaf tin and level.
Bake for 4 hours or until a skewer comes out clean.
Leave to cool in the tin.
Once it is cool don’t remove the baking parchment as this keeps the cake moist. Wrap fully in more parchment and then in foil and store in a cool dry place.
Each week feed the cake with 1 tablespoon of alcohol.
To decorate Put the cake on a plate or cake stand and brush the top of the cake with warmed apricot jam.
Roll out an oblong shape with the marzipan and place the marzipan on top of the jam on the cake.
Use a smoothing tool to smooth the surface then trim around the edges with a sharp knife.
Roll out the fondant icing to roughly the same size as the marzipan.
Brush the marzipan with water and place the fondant on the top. Smooth the surface with a smoothing tool and trim the edges as before.
Cut out shapes with the remaining icing and decorate the cake as you wish. You could add ribbon or ready made decorations if you like.
Sarah’s extra slice…….
Some of the tools I used