Granny Wilsher's Christmas Cake Recipe

Righty Ho ... here it is! My Granny's recipe for Christmas Cake. This is a very easy cake to make as you just chuck everything in a mixer, bung it in the oven and go away to write your Christmas cards or watch a good film!! I promised to post it yesterday so huge apologies that it took me until today! I had a baking filled evening last night and couldn't bring myself to blog as well ... my feet were killing me and I just fell into bed!

Granny Wilsher's Christmas Cake

Pre-heat your oven to 150 degrees centigrade, 300 F or Gas Mark 3.

Line a 20cm cake tin (make sure its a deep one too ) with a double lining of baking parchment at the base and all around. Prepare a double disc of paper to go on top too.

Ingredients

175g butter (soft)

175g lard or vegetable fat (soft)

175g dark moist brown sugar

175g caster sugar

6 large eggs

1 tablespoon mixed spice

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

350g self raising flour

200g sultanas

200g currants

200g raisins

100g glace cherries

100g mixed peel

100g chopped walnuts ( I actually used macademia nuts chopped up as I'm not keen on walnuts)

100g ground almonds

1 tablespoon black treacle

1 small bottle Guinness (or other stout) ( you don't use the whole bottle!!)

brandy (maybe ... if you fancy)

Instructions

1. Cream the butter, lard, brown sugar & caster sugar. You can just chuck them all in a mixer and let it do the work if you like.

2. Add the eggs one at a time and beat well.

3. Sieve the mixed spice and cinnamon into the flour and fold all of it into the mixture.

4. Add the fruit, peel and nuts and mix well.

5. Stir in the black treacle and enough Guinness to give a soft consistency (drink the rest ... says my mum!)

6. Pour into your cake tin and drop sharply onto your work surface ( not from too great a height!!)

Bake on bottom shelf of oven at 150 degrees centigrade (or as above ) for 1 and half hours.

Lower oven to 140 degrees and put disc of baking paper or foil on top. Bake for a further 2 and half hours or more - until a cake tester comes out clean when pushed into centre of cake.

Cool on wire rack and then store in an airtight tin.

You can spike holes in the cake and 'feed' it with brandy if desired and when closer to Christmas coat the top with a layer of apricot jam, followed by a layer of marzipan and then a layer of Royal icing.

Good luck! I hope you enjoy it if you make it and if you do I would love to see a photo or hear what you thought of it!! I shall post a photo of mine when its all iced and gorgeous, but here it is so far ...

Granny Wilsher's Christmas Cake