Recipe uploaded by

7 ratings

Recipe by Jane Hornby

Leave a comment or rate this recipe

Tested

1. Mix the hot tea, whisky and marmalade in a large bowl until the marmalade melts. Stir in all of the dried fruit, peel and cherries, then cover and leave to soak overnight.
2. Next day, heat oven to 160C/fan 140C/gas 3 and grease and double-line a 20cm round, deep cake tin with non-stick baking paper. Using electric beaters, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs a little at a time, beating well after each addition, then fold in the flour and spices, followed by the lemon zest and soaked fruit. Add any liquid that hasn't been absorbed by the fruit, too. Spoon into the prepared tin, level the top, then bake for 1½ hrs. Turn the oven down to 140C/fan 120C/gas 1 and bake for another 1½ hrs or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack in the tin.
3. While the cake is still warm, use the skewer to pepper the cake with holes, poking it all the way down. Dissolve the sugar in the tea, add the whisky or orange juice, then spoon over the surface. If you're making the cake ahead of time, feed it with a fresh swig of hot toddy every week, but take care not to make the cake soggy. Can be kept for a month well-wrapped in an airtight container in a cool, dry place. If short on time, the cake can be made the same day that you decorate it.

PER SERVING (un-iced)

531 kcalories, protein 6g, carbohydrate 88g, fat 18 g, saturated fat 10g, fibre 2g, salt 0.51 g

Latest comments and suggestions

• BakingQueen

  02 November 2007

  BakingQueen commented on this recipe

  I always use sherry instead of whisky in my christmas cakes..creates a great texture.

  Flag as inappropriate

  Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  Your name: Reason:
• wee john

  08 November 2007

  wee john rated and commented on this recipe

  

  The only thing I changed was to reduce the mixed fruit from 750 to 500.Super cake.everyone thought so

  Flag as inappropriate

  Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  Your name: Reason:
• megsnz

  12 November 2007

  megsnz commented on this recipe

  Had to make two of these last year - the first one was eaten went down a treat just before Christmas ! Added a mixture of sherry/ brandy as well as whisky.

  Flag as inappropriate

  Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  Your name: Reason:
• My Binder

  17 November 2007

  My Binder rated and commented on this recipe

  

  I just absolutely love this recipe. It always turns out perfectly and stays moist for ages. Definately my favourite fruit cake.

  Flag as inappropriate

  Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  Your name: Reason:
• persy

  22 November 2007

  persy commented on this recipe

  This is a gorgeous cake. I took the recipe with me to Australia at Christmas '06 and made it there for my family and my daughter-in-law's family. I then used it to make my son's and his now wife's wedding cake, part of which was transported back to Poland by her Auntie.

  Flag as inappropriate

  Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  Your name: Reason:
• Shelly

  29 November 2007

  Shelly rated and commented on this recipe

  

  I made this cake twice last Xmas. The first time was for the office and it went down so well I used the recipe again for my Xmas cake at home. Will be using it agin this year as it was really moist and not at all dry like you would normally expect from fruit cake.

  Flag as inappropriate

  Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  Your name: Reason:
• Carol

  16 December 2007

  Carol rated and commented on this recipe

  

  Made this cake a few days ago and now have to make another one! My family went wild for it......it's so moist and so yummy! Hope that I can keep this next one until Xmas day........yeah right! The only thing I added was a little more mixed spice and some freshly grated nutmeg......might have been a bit more generous with the whisky too....hic! Merry Xmas everyone!

  Flag as inappropriate

  Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  Your name: Reason:
• Allie

  01 January 2008

  Allie commented on this recipe

  I've never had such favourable comments after making a fruit cake - everyone raved about it! I have made it several times now and have found that brandy is even nicer than whisky in it! Had to make it for my mate's Grandad and it went down a treat with him too!

  Flag as inappropriate

  Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  Your name: Reason:
• jenny

  08 January 2008

  jenny commented on this recipe

  What did I do wrong? I followed the recipe to the letter, but it turned out really soggy - my husband says it will be nice with custard ugh! If I did make it again, I think I would just leave out the tea and use whisky on its own - It is moist but too moist, and yet it looked cooked! Strange.

  Flag as inappropriate

  Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  Your name: Reason:
• angel

  10 January 2008

  angel rated and commented on this recipe

  

  i have made this cake twice now and it has gone down really well each time

  Flag as inappropriate

  Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  Your name: Reason:
• annieb

  23 February 2008

  annieb commented on this recipe

  I have volunteered to make a christening cake for my brother's little boy and like the look of this recipe - I hate anything glace or peel, can I substitute these for things like dried cranberries and/or crystallised pineapple etc?

  Flag as inappropriate

  Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  Your name: Reason:
• gingergirl

  25 February 2008

  gingergirl commented on this recipe

  I think that's a great idea-AnnieB-a modern twist. Hope it works! Keep us posted! gingergirl.

  Flag as inappropriate

  Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  Your name: Reason:
• ikatie

  28 March 2008

  ikatie rated and commented on this recipe

  

  I used dried cranberries and crystallised papya and pineapple. It worked like a dream. Used Sherry also and only fed the cake whilst it was warm. Wrapped it up very tightly and decorated and ate the following weekend. Perfectly moist!

  Flag as inappropriate

  Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  Your name: Reason:
• Emma

  04 April 2008

  Emma commented on this recipe

  My first attempt at this and it was delicious! I used sherry instead of whisky. Nice and moist:D Next time im going to reduce the fruit and try whisky instead of sherry.

  Flag as inappropriate

  Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  Your name: Reason:
• Emma

  23 May 2008

  Emma rated and commented on this recipe

  

  easy and everyone thought it was tasty!

  Flag as inappropriate

  Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  Your name: Reason:

Bookmark(What are these?)

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2988/

Your binder

• Register
• Sign in

Sign up to start your online recipe binder, get our newsletter and add recipes, comments and ratings to this site. Tell me more

Ingredients

FOR THE CAKE

• 200ml hot, strong black tea (use any type)
• 3 tbsp whisky
• 3 tbsp good-quality orange marmalade , thin or medium shred
• 700g mixed dried fruits
• 100g mixed peel
• 100g glacé cherries (natural colour)
• 225g butter
• 225g golden caster sugar
• 4 eggs , beaten
• 225g plain flour
• 1 tsp ground mixed spice
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• finely grated zest 1 lemon

TO FEED THE CAKE

• 2 tsp caster sugar
• 50ml hot black tea
• 1 tbsp whisky (or use orange juice if you prefer)

Search Good Food

Keywords

Filter search

Recipes All this site The web

Refine your recipe search

Search filter options

Search by cooking times Less than 10 minutes 10-30 minutes 35-60 minutes Over an hour Search by difficulty Easy Moderately easy For the keen cook Search by cuisine American British Cajun & Creole Caribbean French German Greek Indian Italian Mediterranean Mexican Moroccan Scottish Spanish Swiss Thai Vietnamese Search by course Warm starter Cold starter Main course Side dish Pudding Search by calorie range Less than 200 200-400 400-600 600-800 Over 800 Search by occasion Midweek meal Dinner party Family favourite Birthdays Christmas New Year Mother's Day Chinese New Year Easter Search by chef Good Food Team olive Angela Nilsen Annabel Karmel Anthony Worral Thompson Gary Rhodes Gordon Ramsay James Martin John Torode Ken Hom Lesley Waters Mary Cadogan Merrilees Parker Nick Nairn Orlando Murrin Ruth Watson Silvana Franco Thane Prince Tony Tobin Search by diet Vegetarian Vegan Gluten-free Dairy-free Nut-free Egg-free Low-fat Low in salt Suitable for diabetics Search by magazine BBC Good food olive Search by servings 1 2 4 6 8 For a crowd

More Good Food features

Wellbeing

• Eat your way to fabulous skin
• The healing power of herbs
• Nutting it out

Seasonal & local

• Grow your own strawberries
• Local food heroes
• Grow your own courgettes

Recipe features

• Help yourself to summer salads
• Irresistible ice creams
• Vegetarian delights

Difficulty and servings

Cuts into 12 slices

Preperation and cooking times

Prep 20 mins

Cook 3 hrs min

Plus overnight soaking

Vegetarian

Ingredients

FOR THE CAKE

• 200ml hot, strong black tea (use any type)
• 3 tbsp whisky
• 3 tbsp good-quality orange marmalade , thin or medium shred
• 700g mixed dried fruits
• 100g mixed peel
• 100g glacé cherries (natural colour)
• 225g butter
• 225g golden caster sugar
• 4 eggs , beaten
• 225g plain flour
• 1 tsp ground mixed spice
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• finely grated zest 1 lemon

TO FEED THE CAKE

• 2 tsp caster sugar
• 50ml hot black tea
• 1 tbsp whisky (or use orange juice if you prefer)

PER SERVING (un-iced)

531 kcalories, protein 6g, carbohydrate 88g, fat 18 g, saturated fat 10g, fibre 2g, salt 0.51 g

Your binder

Here are three other great reasons why to sign up:

• You get an online binder, where you can store all your favourite recipes and create menus.
• You can add your own recipes to this site for others to try; plus, rate and make comments on recipes, and share your views on our blog.
• You can sign up for our weekly newsletter (sent out on Wednesdays) - it's packed with recipes, special offers and competitions.