recipe reviews for:

Christmas Cake

“This cake is a rich, dark, moist fruit cake, very flavorful at Christmas. Try icing with almond paste for a more festive touch. This recipe is started in October or November so as to let it mellow before the holidays. I remember very well my mother storing her fruit cake in an old butter churn that belonged to my grandmother and great grandmother. I wish that I had that old crock.”

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Reviewed: Nov. 23, 2009

It was hard , unmoist , and I did not care for this recipe.

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collage

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Reviewed: Oct. 3, 2009

Everyone loved this. I made about 4 weeks before Xmas- wrapped it up good and tight and every week I would open it and poke wholes in it with a toothpick and pour a cap full of brandy over it. I don't eat Christmas cake but everyone loved it. Said it was so moist and tastey.

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Sheila McDonough

Cooking Level: Beginning

Home Town: Hanover, Massachusetts, USA

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Reviewed: Jun. 21, 2009

Made this cake last christmas and with all the additions of nuts I added I am able to make two cakes of 9" pans. The reviews of this cake was endless!! Here are my changes due to my love for nuts and dislike of mix citris. I omitted the cherries. I used my home made orange rind minced fine. Doubled the (orange flaviored)currants used 3-4 cups dates. Addition to the almonds added another 4-5 cups of brazil, pecans, walnuts,hazil nuts..Doubled the seasoning. This cake for me bakes nicely within 2 1/2 hours at 250 degrees. After 2 hours I check to see how it is with a tooth pick or fine knife.

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Lydia

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

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Reviewed: Nov. 1, 2008

I have been looking for the "perfect" cake recipe to replace my Mother's Christmas Cake receipe which has been lost. I shall look no further. I can't wait to start baking.

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Reviewer:

Donna H

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Guelph, Ontario, Canada

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Reviewed: Feb. 8, 2008

Excellent cake. Made three. Gave two away. Ate one. Need to make more!

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Christina

Cooking Level: Expert

Living In: Blind Bay, British Columbia, Canada

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Reviewed: Dec. 22, 2007

This is the best christmas cake we ever had, we were able to store it until sprint:)

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fulltea

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Reviewed: Dec. 18, 2007

like delicius,thanx. yemekyapye

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yemekyapye

Cooking Level: Expert

Living In: Istanbul, Istanbul, Turkey

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Reviewed: Dec. 12, 2007

delicious... made it last night. there is definetly enough for more than one. my only mistake was not to use partchment paper because I didnt have any. Im new at the whole baking thing but it turn out perfect....Thank you!!

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natsrey

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Reviewed: Nov. 25, 2007

Now made this cake 5 times and the results have been very good. And I'm a novice cake-maker.

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Gorseinonboy

Cooking Level: Beginning

Home Town: Swansea, Glamorgan, Wales, U.K.

Living In: Limoges, Limousin, France

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Reviewed: Nov. 5, 2007

LOVE this cake! I suggest only a couple of modifications, but if you can't make the changes, make this cake anyway because it is a real crowd pleaser. First, use Demerara sugar instead of brown sugar if you can. It's usually found in regular grocery stores, next to the other sugars, and it doesn't cost much more. It's is a light brown sugar that provides a stickier texture and a really rich aroma-- perfect for this cake. Second, marinate the candied fruit in the brandy for as long as you can. You really want the fruit to be plump. Third, follow the directions for a long baking time in low heat. Don't try to speed things up by increasing the temperature (like I once did...)! Fourth, top with Royal Icing-- there are some very good recipes for it on this website. Royal Icing is a bit tricky to work with, but it's worth the effort!

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ABoston

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Tifton, Georgia, USA

Living In: Manhattan Beach, California, USA

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Reviewed: Oct. 26, 2007

I substituted a number of things - marg for the butter, powdered egg replacer for the 6 eggs, soy & rice flour for the wheat. I decided there was too much cloves so cut that down to 1/4 tsp, and doubled the cinnamon to 2 heaping teaspoons. I mixed 1/2 cup dark rum and 1/2 cup brandy and poured that over the fruit and let marinade for over 24 hours. I also substituted 1/2 cup orange juice with 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice instead of the apple juice. I divided the recipe between two Teflon bunt pans. Convection baked at 275° for 2 1/4 hrs. Then I poured 1 cup of mixed rum & brandy over the cakes when cool. Was delicious! Falls apart with the flour substitute but sure tastes great.

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Jane

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: New Liskeard, Ontario, Canada

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Reviewed: Feb. 9, 2007

This recipe is excellent! I made this cake for a christmas present to my parents who are extremely hard to please food critics and they absolutely loved it, mum is usually very critical of everyones xmas cakes but this got the thumbs up! I did replace the raisins and currants with dried figs, peaches, pears and some glace ginger ...which made for a not so traditional but excellent, rich and exotic cake, really moist and yummy.

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harfly13

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Geelong, Victoria, Australia

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Reviewed: Jan. 10, 2007

Did not rise properly, stayed raw in the middle maybe my mistake?? Help

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Karen Martin

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Rexdale, Ontario, Canada

Living In: Marsaskala, Malta Island, Malta

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Reviewed: Dec. 30, 2006

Everyone loved this. My only change: soaked the fruit in rum, then drizzled about 1/3 c brandy over the cake just prior to storage. Stored for 2 weeks wrapped in waxed paper in a tin in my fruit cellar. This will change everyone's mind about the dreaded fruitcake.

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Lorie

Cooking Level: Intermediate

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Reviewed: Dec. 29, 2006

The house smells great! I already had a piece right out of the oven and it's pretty good. But I had to modify a bit because I don't have access to molasses so I increase brown sugar and add maple syrup. Also don't have candied citrus so I used dry apricot instead. Next time I will add a bit more spice maybe additional half a teaspoon each at least to intensify the flavor. The recipe makes 2 loaves and a low 6 inch cake for me, with baking time only 60 minutes.

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WAVE911

Cooking Level: Expert

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Reviewed: Dec. 10, 2006

Update: I've made this recipe over 3 Christmas now. I've halved the flour quantity in order to have a more fruity cake. Will keep this one going. Yummy!As my partner is not a fan of the glazed cherries I used dried cherries (pretty expensive, but worth it!)and it tastes lovely.I'm pouring 2tbsp of Brandy on each cake every 2 weeks.I don't think it needs any icing either as it's delicious as it is.Hope it lasts till xmas.Thanks Carol!

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Zubs

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Reviewed: Nov. 12, 2006

I made this recipe about 6 weeks before christmas and then resisted eating it until then. This is truly the best Christmas cake ever! It is really rich and moist. It did make a lot and I had to put it in a 26cm or 10inch square tin which fit perfectly. We thought we would never get through it it was so huge but it was gone within a week or so. It was so delicious. As my husband is allergic to almonds I substituted brazil nuts which worked just as well. I let the cake cool in the tin with a teatowel over the top to keep the moisture in then when it was cool I basted it in brandy and wrapped up in greaseproof paper and tin foil. Also for all you Aussies, after hunting around shops looking for Molasses with no luck I did some research on the net and found out that what they call molasses in the US is what we call treacle over here - if they ask for blackstrap molasses then that is what we call molasses. Hope that helps when you find it hard to find molasses on the shelf in Aus. Will definately be making it again this year (and also planning on making smaller ones for gifts keeping the big for myself of course)- can't wait!

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liz

Cooking Level: Expert

Living In: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

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Reviewed: Nov. 2, 2006

This cake is Wonderful! I have some friends who don't like fruit-cake but they liked this One. Thanks, Cheryl

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CHERYL FISCHER

Cooking Level: Professional

Living In: Corpus Christi, Texas, USA

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Reviewed: Jan. 17, 2006

Fantastic cake! I also got 2 cakes. I sprinkled more brandy on the baked cakes. Yummy!

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PATTY33

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Reviewed: Dec. 22, 2005

Awesome. With a chef for a partner it can be a little hard to impress. But, "great cake babe" summed it up. Thanks Carol, followed your recipe to the letter. Did have a little mixture left but they made yummy muffin style "mini chrissy cakes" for "play lunch"

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