Your Must-Have Christmas Cake Recipe List
Looking for the best cake recipes to make your own Christmas cake this year? Nothing turns any occasion into a celebration like a cake, especially during the holidays. Cakes are not only for family consumption but also for relatives and friends. Whether you’re looking for a beautiful centerpiece for a holiday dinner or simply an easy addition to your Christmas party dessert table, we’ve compiled some cake recipes for everyone and we hope you’ll find something to love here at Ventray.
5 Best Christmas Cake Recipes to Make This Christmas
Baking our Christmas cakes will bring more joy to Christmas celebrations this year. Check out our best Christmas cake recipes and give them a try.
1. Mary Berry’s Christmas Cake
About the cake-
This Mary Berry-inspired Christmas cake is a classic and a hit and is the perfect festive treat. This super moist fruit cake recipe is full of fruit, almonds, brandy, and treacle. Remember to soak the dried fruit overnight to allow it to absorb the alcohol and plump up.
2. Cranberry Christmas Cake
About the cake-
This Cranberry Christmas Cake is delicious and easy to make. The fresh cranberries in this recipe are bright and beautiful, providing the perfect balance of sweetness and light tartness. This cranberry Christmas cake is a wonderful way to enjoy fresh fruit. Try this incredibly easy Christmas cake recipe this year!
3. Vegan Christmas Cake
About the cake-
Rich, moist, and dark vegan Christmas cake is a perfect Christmas cake idea for the holiday season. In this vegan fruit cake recipe, we substitute chia seeds for eggs and add coconut oil for a great background flavor and to keep the cake moist. Simple to make, no overnight soaking required.
4. White Christmas Cake
About the cake-
This white Christmas cake is a stunning Christmas cake that will sparkle on your table. Your family and guests will be amazed by this vanilla almond cake with cream cheese icing. This lovely cake contains white chocolate, coconut, and pecans and it’s delicious.
5. Gluten-Free Christmas Cake
About the cake-
This gluten-free Christmas cake brimming with dried fruit, almonds, and glace cherries is the best homemade treat this Christmas season. It’s delicious as a traditional Christmas cake. Your Christmas menu needs this gluten free Christmas cake.
How Do You Keep a Christmas Cake Moist?
Depending on how long you plan to store your cake, follow these simple steps to keep your Christmas cake moist.
For short-term (1-4 weeks) storage – Just be sure to store the fruitcake in an airtight container between servings.
For medium-term (1-4 months) storage – Use plastic film to wrap the fruitcake before placing the cake in an airtight container. Then put that container in the refrigerator.
For long-term (more than 4 months) storage – Wrap your fruitcake with a layer of plastic wrap, then wrap it with a layer of foil. Make sure your fruitcake and foil don’t touch each other. Then place the wrapped cake in an airtight container and put that container in the refrigerator.
Is Brandy or Rum Better for Christmas Cake?
Traditionally, Christmas cakes have a strong, spicy, fruity flavor, so it’s best to choose liquor with high alcohol content, as these tend to have a longer shelf life, keeping Christmas cakes from spoiling. Brandy, rum, whisky, sherry, and fortified wines like Madeira or Port are all good options to feed your Christmas cake. However, feeding liquor is entirely a matter of personal preference, whichever you use, just make sure you complement the fruit cake’s rich flavors.
How Far in Advance Should You Make a Christmas Cake?
Christmas fruitcakes should be baked two to three months in advance depending on the recipe you use to allow enough time for maturing and regular feeding.
Here are some things you need to know when you make your first Christmas cake.
- You’ll need to cool the cake in a cool place for up to 3 months before decorating.
- Every few weeks, you’ll need to feed the cake alcohol.
- Brand, rum, whisky, and sherry are the common choice to feed the Christmas cake.
How Long Should You Soak Fruit for a Christmas Cake?
You can let the fruit soak for 24-48 hours, weeks, or months, depending on the recipe you use before baking your cake.
How to soak the fruit for Christmas cake?
- Buy different types of dried fruit and cut them into small pieces if desired.
- Mix all the chopped dried fruit well in a bowl, then pour the fruit mixture into a glass jar.
- Pour alcohol over it, just enough to soak the dried fruit. Cover with a lid and store at room temperature until further use.
What Are the Ingredients to Bake a Christmas Cake?
Ingredients for baking a classic Christmas cake typically include:
For the cake: Dried mixed fruit, glace cherries, brandy, orange (zest and juice), lemon (zest and juice), butter, dark brown sugar, black treacle, eggs, self-raising flour, ground almonds, whole almonds (or walnuts or pecans), and mixed spice.
For the Marzipan layer: Sieved apricot jam, ready-made marzipan, and icing sugar.
For the icing: Egg white, icing sugar, and lemon juice.
Final Thoughts
This holiday season, choose some recipes from these homemade Christmas cake ideas from Ventray and bake up a cake filled with the flavors that remind you of Christmas to kick off your celebration right.
