Gingery Christmas cake
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Gingery Christmas cake

A good glug of ginger wine makes this cake a little different from the norm. It's also lighter than its predecessors, so you can have two pieces!

Difficulty and servings

Easy

Cuts in 12 slices

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 20 mins

Cook time

Cook 2 hrs 30 mins

Plus overnight soaking
Freezable

Method

  1. Tip the raisins, currants and sultanas into a bowl. Pour over 200ml ginger wine, then cover and leave to sit at room temperature overnight so that the fruit plumps up.
  2. Heat oven to 160C/fan 140C/gas 3. Using the bottom of a 20cm, loose-bottomed cake tin as a template, cut out 2 circles of baking parchment. Then cut 2 thick strips (about 2cm deeper than the tin) that will fit around the inside of the tin. Make small cuts along one of the edges, about 2cm apart. Grease the tin, then place one parchment circle at the bottom. Place one strip inside the tin, making sure the cut side is at the bottom, as this will help you to fit it inside. Do the same with the remaining strip, then place the second circle on top (see step-by-step).
  3. Put the butter and sugar into a mixing bowl and whisk with an electric beater until creamy and light, about 5 mins. Add the eggs, one at a time, making sure you stir well after each addition, then mix through the flour, ground almonds and spices. Stir in the soaked fruits, and any liquid left over, with the fresh root ginger and treacle until everything is well combined.
  4. Spoon in the mixture and smooth the top, then use a spoon to make a slight dip in the centre. This will ensure the cake has an even surface when finished. Bake for 30 mins, then lower the oven to 150C/fan 130C/gas 2 and bake for another 2 hrs until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Skewer the cake all over, then drizzle over the remaining 4 tbsp ginger wine. Leave the cake to cool in the tin, then peel off the lining paper. To store, wrap first in baking parchment and then in tin foil. The cake will keep in a cupboard for up to 3 months or can be frozen for up to 6 months.
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Emma says...

I love fruitcakes, but after a day of indulgence I often find that they are a bit heavy come Christmas teatime. This cake is lovely and moist, but I've made it a bit lighter than usual and, drawing inspiration from parkin, the famous Yorkshire cake, I've added plenty of gingery flavour, which gives it a spicy touch. Guaranteed to brighten up a cold winter's day!

Per serving

470 kcalories, protein 6.0g, carbohydrate 67.0g, fat 19.0 g, saturated fat 10.0g, fibre 2.0g, sugar 54.0g, salt 0.42 g

Recipe from Good Food magazine, November 2007.

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Latest comments and suggestions

Results 21-40

  • Binder photo HelloKnitty

    25 November 2008

    HelloKnitty commented on this recipe

    Made this cake a few days ago and it smells divine. Am now storing it for a party in a few weeks time. Does anyone know whether this cake needs to be 'fed' occasionally with extra ginger wine? Or, perhaps it is moist enough already?

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  • Binder photo Andreeyah

    25 November 2008

    Andreeyah commented on this recipe

    I'm definately going to be 'feeding' a bit more ginger wine up until Christmas!! I normally make a traditional cake and pour brandy on every couple of days!! Keep away from naked flames!! Hehe!!

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  • Binder photo kath

    20 December 2008

    kath commented on this recipe

    Lovely moist cake. However I did make a couple of changes as I was doubtful that it would be gingery enough for me. I added 2 tsp of ground ginger instead of one and 50g of chopped stem ginger.

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  • Binder photo HelloKnitty

    26 December 2008

    HelloKnitty rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    Finally served and tasted the cake tonight. Light and fruity it certainly was but not very gingery at all. Should have added more ground ginger and some stem ginger as suggested above. The cake was moist although I did feed it a couple of tablespoons of ginger wine each week since late November. I think the cake would have been a touch dry if I hadn't added the extra wine. Would be lovely gently warmed and served with some vanilla custard!

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  • Binder photo nicky wake

    29 December 2008

    nicky wake rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    >I have made this cake for the last 2 christmas its easy to make light and moist i make it about 6 weeks before then i make the orange marzipan which is also delicious and then ice it diffrently each year. With any left over marzipan i cut it into shapes and coat in chocolate to make effective little sweets

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  • Binder photo Tor

    02 January 2009

    Tor rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    This was the first christmas cake i have made and it was gorgeous! I made it as per the recipe and didnt do any extra soaking and it was lovely and moist. I made the orange marzipan to go with it and as a someone who doesn't usually like marzipan i was loving this. The whole family enjoyed it so much that it was all gone by boxing day! i will be making this again next christmas without a doubt!

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  • Binder photo Leea74

    03 January 2009

    Leea74 rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    This cake is totally gorgeous however made the fatal mistake of feeding the cake a couple of times with ginger wine (this was NOT recommended by Good Food but my own inititative). When I cut the cake is was almost soggy inside. Luckily noone wanted any on Christmas day itself and after I left it exposed to the air for a day it sorted itself out! DO NOT feed this cake, it really doesnt need it.

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  • Binder photo Eleanor

    19 January 2009

    Eleanor rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Was Really lovely - a nice change from the normal christmas cake. I will defo make this again. Infact it has been requested!

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  • Binder photo Laura O'C

    04 October 2009

    Laura O'C commented on this recipe

    I've been making this cake for the last couple of years. I always make 3, one for me, one for a friend and one to raffle off at work. I add 2 globes of stem ginger into the fruit and add some chopped glace cherries, dried pineapple and dried apple for extra taste (I reduce the raisins down to change the fruit) I tend to make the cakes in October and feed them once a week with a mix of ginger wine, stem ginger syrup and spiced rum for a good, moist, spicey cake. When decorating, I use a ginger conserve instead of apricot jam to give it a tasty zing.

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  • Binder photo Caryl

    01 January 2010

    Caryl rated this recipe

    4 stars

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  • Binder photo The Farmers Wife

    13 January 2010

    The Farmers Wife rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • Binder photo cazzawatto

    18 January 2010

    cazzawatto rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • Binder photo jo62

    02 May 2010

    jo62 rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    Made this in October and strored until Christmas. Lovely and moist without any additional feeding. Added some crystallized ginger and would add more if I made it again as it really isn't that gingery for my taste.Went well with orange marzipan.

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  • Binder photo julie

    20 September 2010

    julie rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    made this lovely cake today,added abit more mixed spice and ginger as like that wow flavour, also made this in a 7" square tin sp i could cut in 2 pieces. beautiful taste and texture shall use this again!

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  • Binder photo Colette

    16 October 2010

    Colette commented on this recipe

    This cake is in my oven just now, but I have made it vegan using sunflower spread in place of butter and also egg replacer. Curious to see how it turns out! In the meantime, can anyone offer any tips on when to ice this cake?

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  • Binder photo jo62

    14 November 2010

    jo62 commented on this recipe

    Colette - i marzipanned this cake about a week before Xmas, allowed the marzipan to dry out for about 3 days and then put on the royal icing . Hope this helps.

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  • Binder photo Katie Forrest

    28 November 2010

    Katie Forrest commented on this recipe

    I made this today and it's just out the oven. Smells soooooooo good! Very easy to make too (I've never made a Christmas cake before) so I'm really happy and can't wait to taste it in a couple of weeks!

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  • Binder photo gurzelwummidge

    22 December 2010

    gurzelwummidge rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Really moist, flavoursome and tasty

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  • Binder photo TalFlora

    27 December 2010

    TalFlora commented on this recipe

    I didin't have any ginger wine so added brandy, I also added 3 teaspoons of fresh ginger instead of 1, everyone enjoyed the gingery Christmas cake. I shall be making this cake again in the year, why wait till christmas. Great recipe.

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  • Binder photo Alison Murray

    11 January 2011

    Alison Murray rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    This was fantastic! I don't normally like Christmas cake but loved this, as did my family. Being a ginger fanatic helps!

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Difficulty and servings

Easy

Cuts in 12 slices

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 20 mins

Cook time

Cook 2 hrs 30 mins

Plus overnight soaking
Freezable

Packed with fruit

Ingredients

  • 350g raisins
  • 125g currants
  • 125g sultanas
  • 200ml ginger wine , plus 4tbsp
  • 200g butter , softened, plus extra for greasing
  • 200g dark muscovado sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 200g plain flour
  • 50g ground almonds
  • ½ tsp mixed spice
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 tsp freshly grated root ginger
  • 1 tbsp treacle
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Per serving

470 kcalories, protein 6.0g, carbohydrate 67.0g, fat 19.0 g, saturated fat 10.0g, fibre 2.0g, sugar 54.0g, salt 0.42 g

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