Choosing the best Christmas cake recipes is not an easy task. With such a long and rich tradition the variations and options seem endless.
We’ve distilled the choices down to our top 7 best Christmas cake recipes.
Christmas cake recipes typically all share one common ingredient – dried fruit. I admit it. I’ve never been a big lover of fruitcakes.
Baking with dried or preserved fruits can be traced back to the “Twelfth Night”. The “Twelfth Night” is the night before the final day of the christian Christmas celebrations.
It was common to prepare a “twelfth cake” comprised of leftover Christmas pudding added to the cake mix.
Over time as exotic fruits from distant lands were brought back to England the recipes for Christmas “twelfth cakes” became more and more elaborate.
If you’re looking for general information about how to cook Christmas Cake and the history of dried fruits in baked goods specifically, then we defer to The Guardian here.
Jamie Oliver’s Perfect Christmas Cake Recipe
Jamie’s Christmas Cake recipe is perfect for people like me who aren’t die-hard dried fruit fans. He describes it as “fruitcake for sissies”
“I’m not going to be shy about this one – the recipe is utter genius, and every fruitcake-hater I’ve ever tried it out on concedes that it’s good. It has beautiful plump pieces of easily identifiable delicious dried fruits, not miscellaneous clumps of bitter, black-coloured maybe-raisins and something-like-sultanas that stick to your fillings and make your jaw ache.”
Mary Berry’s Rich Fruit Christmas Cake Recipe
This Mary Berry recipe for Christmas cake is a rich, traditional versionthat is loaded with fruit, nuts, brandy and treacle. It’s a bit much for me but some people swear by it!
Traditional Christmas Fruit Cake Recipe
This variation of the traditional Christmas fruit cake recipe was created by the team at Delia Online to use up excess vine fruits. It’s a beautiful looking cake. And more importantly, it’s delicious!
If you’re not a fan (like me) of currants or candied peel it’s a simple trick to re-portion the remainder of the fruits.
Prized Best Christmas Cake Recipe
This Prized Christmas Cake recipe from BestRecipes.com.au is the cat’s meow!
It’s a simple to follow recipe that turns out great every time. I, as always, drop the peel from the recipe. Yucky peel!
“An ‘old-fashioned’ recipe that was my late mother-in-law’s prize-winning cake show recipe.–“ Alphamax
Chelsea’s Favorite Best Christmas Cake Recipe
This easy to make Christmas cake recipe from New Zealand is regularly described as the “best Christmas cake I’ve ever made” by numerous reviewers.
We agree. It’s SO easy and SO delicious! Try this Kiwi version of Christmas cake immediately. You won’t be disappointed.
Christmas Cake Recipe from Preppy Kitchen
This is a super moist and aggresively spiced gingerbread version of Christmas cake. What takes it to the next level is the silky Italian buttercream icing.
This is my favorite out of all of our choices for best Christmas cake recipes. Enjoy!
Traditional British Christmas Cake Recipe
This variation on the traditional Christmas cake recipe by Spruce Eats is killer!
It may seem complicated but if you follow a few basic tricks – pre-measure ALL ingredients – it’s easy for even a Christmas cake beginner.
“Christmas cake ideally should be made at least two months before Christmas; this allows time for the cake to be fed at regular intervals with brandy, which, in turn, helps to mature the cake. However, if you are making it later, you can be assured the cake will still taste as good, though it may not store as long as a mature one.”
For additional baking inspiration and more Christmas cake recipes don’t miss our popular Best Baking Blogs post here.
