21 November, 2021
Paul Hollywood Christmas Cake
This recipe has been my Christmas Cake recipe of choice for the past couple of years. It’s a classic, richly fruited Christmas cake taken from Paul Hollywood’s ‘How To Bake’ cookbook. It can be enjoyed as it is or decorated with marzipan and icing for a festive showstopper! Some preparation is needed the day before and it does require 3 plus hours baking! This recipe makes a 20cm cake which makes approximately 16 slices. It can be made a few weeks in advance of Christmas too!
Ingredients:
- 450g sultanas
- 225g raisins
- 225g dried apricots, chopped
- 115g prunes, chopped
- 55g glacé pineapple
- 225g glacé cherries, chopped
- 225g chopped candied peel
- 115g blanched almonds, toasted & very roughly chopped
- Finely grated zest & juice of 1 orange
- 70ml brandy
- 225g unsalted butter, softened
- 200g light muscovado sugar
- 5 large eggs
- 280g plain flour
To finish:
- 2 tbsp apricot jam
- 500g packet ready made marzipan
- 1 quantity of royal icing (see later) OR a 500g packet ready-to-roll royal icing
Instructions:
- Combine all the dried & glacé fruit, candied peel & almonds in a large bowl. Add the orange zest, orange juice & brandy. Mix well & leave overnight (or for at least a few hours).
- Heat the oven to 150C. Line the base & sides of a 20cm round, deep cake tin with a double thickness of baking parchment, cutting it so that it stands a good 5cm proud of the top of the tin.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter & sugar together for a few minutes, until pale & fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, adding a little of the flour with each to prevent the mixture splitting. Stir in the fruit mixture. Sift the remaining flour over the mixture & fold in, using a large metal spoon. Spoon the mixture into the prepared cake tin & level the surface.
- Bake in the middle of the oven for 3 hours, then check by inserting a skewer into the centre – if it comes out clean, the cake is cooked. If not, give it a further 15-30 minutes. Leave the cake to cool before removing it from the tin.
- When your cake is completely cooled – and ideally after a few days – you can marzipan & ice it. (I usually make my cake about a month before Christmas, wrap it in a double layer of parchment & foil & ‘feed’ it weekly with extra brandy!)
- Warm the apricot jam gently in a saucepan with a splash of water to thin it down, sieve, then brush all over the cake.
- Roll out 300g of the marzipan to a large circle, about 4mm thick. Using the cake tin as a guide, cut a round of marzipan to fit the top of the cake & position it. Roll out the other 200g marzipan & cut 2 long strips to fit around the side of the cake. Position these, then smooth the marzipan & mould the edges together.
- If you are using ready-to-roll icing, roll it out on a surface lightly dusted with icing sugar to a thickness of about 5mm. Lift it iver the marzipan, smooth down & trim off the excess at the base.
- If you are using homemade royal icing, smooth it over the cake with a palette knife. You can leave it smooth or swirl it into peaks with the back of a spoon (this is the method I prefer). Leave to set.
- Wrap a ribbon around the side of your Christmas cake & finish as you wish with festive decorations.
Recipe for Royal Icing: Beat 2 egg whites until bubbly & frothy. Start adding 500g icing sugar, a spoonful at a time, until all incorporated. Add 1 tsp glycerine & a squeeze of lemon juice & keep beating until the icing is thick & easily holds peaks. It is now ready to use to decorate your cake.