Mary Berry's classic Christmas cake

Name: Mary Berry's classic Christmas cake
Prep time: 12 h
Cook time: 2 h
Total time: 14 h
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 175g/6oz raisins; 350g/12oz natural glacé cherries, halved, rinsed, and thoroughly dried; 500g/1lb 2oz currants; 350g/12oz sultanas; 150ml/¼pt brandy or sherry, plus extra for feeding; 2 oranges, zest only; 250g/9oz butter, softened; 250g/9oz light or dark muscovado sugar; 4 large free-range eggs, at room temperature; 1 tbsp black treacle; 75g/3oz blanched almonds, chopped; 275g/10oz plain flour; 1½ tsp mixed spice; about 3 tbsp apricot jam, warmed and sieved; icing sugar; 675g/1lb 8oz marzipan; 3 free-range eggs, whites only; 675g/1½lb icing sugar, sifted; 3 tsp lemon juice; 1½ tsp glycerine

Instructions

Prep:12hCook:2h

Mary Berry’s been making her traditional Christmas cake recipe for as long as Paul Hollywood’s been alive. She knows what she’s talking about. If you don't have the required tin size, go to her cake calculator to recalculate the ingredients and cooking time for your cake tin.

Updated at: Mon, 03 Mar 2025 07:54:55 GMT