Emily Jonzen is a London-based food stylist and recipe writer with almost ten years of experience working on books, magazines, packaging, advertising and television projects.
See more of Emily Jonzen’s recipes
Emily Jonzen
Emily Jonzen is a London-based food stylist and recipe writer with almost ten years of experience working on books, magazines, packaging, advertising and television projects.
See more of Emily Jonzen’s recipes
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Ingredients
2 x 125g packs dried morello cherries
300g mixed sultanas and jumbo raisins
250g dried prunes, diced
200g glacé cherries, roughly chopped
zest and juice of 2 oranges
175ml amaretto liqueur, plus extra to feed
100g flaked almonds
250g soft butter, plus extra to grease
200g light brown sugar
4 medium eggs
150g plain flour
2 tsp ground mixed spice
2 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground nutmeg
100g ground almonds
1 tsp vanilla extract
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Put the dried fruit, glacé cherries and orange zest and juice into a large pan and stir over a medium heat for 2-3 minutes, until the juice begins to bubble. Remove from the heat, stir through the amaretto and cover. Leave for 2 hours or overnight, for the fruit to plump up.
Preheat the oven to 140°C, fan 120°C, gas 1. Spread out the flaked almonds on a baking tray and toast in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until golden; leave to cool. Grease and line a deep 20cm, loose-based cake tin with a double layer of baking paper, making sure that it comes up at least 4cm above the top of the tin. Wrap the outside of the tin in a couple of sheets of newspaper and secure with kitchen string. Cut another sheet of baking paper to cover the top, cutting a small circle in the centre for steam to escape during baking.
In your largest mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until light and creamy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then sift over the flour and spices plus a pinch of salt. Tip in the ground and toasted almonds, the vanilla and the soaked fruits along with any liquid from the pan. Gently fold everything together, until just combined. Scrape the mixture into the prepared tin, making a dent in the centre of the mixture (to help create a flat top during baking).
Cover the top with the prepared baking paper and bake for about 3½ hours, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out almost clean (it may be slightly sticky but shouldn’t have any uncooked mixture on it). Leave to cool in the tin for 30 minutes, then invert onto a cooling rack, removing the base and baking paper. Once cool, wrap in a double layer of baking paper, then in a layer of foil, and keep in a cool, dark place. The wrapped cake keeps for up to 3 months.
If you want to feed the cake with extra amaretto, poke a few holes in the top of the cake with a co*cktail stick and feed with 1 tablespoon of amaretto every week or two. If you’re going to marzipan and ice the cake, stop feeding it at least a week beforehand, to let the surface dry out.
Adaptations to try
Skip the booze and make an alcohol-free cake using apple or orange juice instead of amaretto, and add 2 tsp almond extract if you still want that rich almond flavour.
You can use pretty much any combination of dried fruit that you like in the cake, as long as it adds up to the same total weight.
The amaretto can be subbed with whatever’s already in your drinks store: fruit-flavoured liqueurs, sherry, port or brandy, rum or whisky.
Use up any combination of unsalted nuts that are hanging around in your cupboard; sniff and taste to make sure they aren’t stale, then toast in the oven to bring out their flavour.
Don’t worry if you don’t have light brown sugar; you can use any type (other than icing sugar or jam sugar); the darker the colour, the deeper the flavour it adds to the cake.
What is the best alcohol to put in a Christmas cake? A reasonably strong spirit (such as whisky, rum or brandy) with a warm, fiery flavour or a sweet liqueur (such as cherry brandy or amaretto - NOT a cream liqueur) will compliment the flavour of the cake, and help to preserve the cake, so it will keep for longer.
It's possible to overfeed your cake, which will make it stodgy and wet. Our advice is to feed it once after it's initially baked, then no more than four times during the maturation period. Try a teaspoonful of whichever alcohol you've chosen before you begin feeding your cake to test its strength.
Most people use brandy. I think this tastes better. This cake does NOT need to mature for weeks to taste gorgeous - 6 days from start to finish is as much time as you need. Although, if you prefer a more leisurely pace, that also works.
I like to feed my cake with a few tablespoons of brandy every two weeks up until Christmas. If you want to decorate your Christmas cake, you do not want to feed it just before as it will make it wet and sticky so slightly annoying. If you make your cake nearer to Christmas, that is totally okay.
It's frequently used in sweet desserts and warm and cold drinks and goes well with coffee. Amaretto drinks are the splendor of a modern bar and bartenders go overboard to introduce new recipes. Besides, Amaretto pairs well with apple, cranberry, orange, pear, and other fruits in fruity drinks.
You'll find amaretto in simple lowballs where it's paired with brandy, rum, vodka, and whiskey. It's often featured in sweet dessert and inviting cozy drinks—both warm and cold—and excellent with coffee. Amaretto is also a great mixer for fruity co*cktails alongside apple, cranberry, orange, pear, and much more.
Hazelnut liqueur is very similar to amaretto since it is also nutty in flavor, and might pair well with other sweet ingredients such as chocolate or coffee – start off with small amounts to ensure the flavor works well.
Baking a cake in a too-hot oven for the recommended time will dry it out. And baking a cake in a not-hot-enough oven will dry the crust before the center is fully baked.
The cake should be tested after the baking time with a cake tester or skewer and when inserted into the centre of the cake then it should come out clean if the cake is done. If there is any wet cake better or damp crumbs clinging to the skewer then the cake should be baked for a further 15 minutes and tested again.
Fruitcake aficionados will tell you that the best fruit cakes are matured – or “seasoned” in fruitcake lingo – for at least three months before they are cut. Seasoning not only improves the flavor of the fruitcake, but it makes it easier to slice.
Soak all your dried fruits in your spirit of choice – whisky or brandy would be the most traditional options, though other aged spirits like rum also work, and sweeter additions like sherry, Cointreau or amaretto will add their own character.
Get Into the Holiday Spirit with Our Boozy Fruitcake Recipe
Remove your fruitcake from its tin. Discard the cake's cellophane wrapping. ...
Evenly pour 1.5 - 2 ounces of your favorite bourbon, rum, brandy, or cognac, over the fruitcake. For a quick way to measure, use a standard-sized shot glass.
Other good choices of booze include brandy, rum, or whiskey. Feel free to use one or a mix of these to best complement your fruitcake. Once you've chosen the liquor, bake the cake, poke holes throughout the whole thing, and pour a few tablespoons of the alcohol over it. Or, you can brush the cake with the alcohol.
Baking with booze—such as bourbon, rum, port and vodka—can add additional flavor, texture and even change the consistency of many baked goods. Take pie dough for example, adding a splash of vodka produces a super flakey dough and develops less gluten in the dough than water.
Nigella suggests bourbon or brandy but you can use many other alternative alcohols. Bourbon is a type of whiskey, so the Scotch whisky may be the best alternative. However, the ginger wine could also be used as there is ground ginger in the cake.
Your best bet is going to be another dry fortified wine such as dry (white) vermouth. Dry versions of Madeira and marsala are also acceptable. You can also substitute a dry white wine like sauvignon blanc, pinot grigio, pinot blanc, or sémillon.
Introduction: My name is Terence Hammes MD, I am a inexpensive, energetic, jolly, faithful, cheerful, proud, rich person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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Prep time: 45 mins
