Dark, tender and fragrant with cinnamon and orange, this fruit cake skips the months of feeding. Warming the fruit in butter and juice plumps it fast, and a quick orange glaze keeps every slice moist through the festive season.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 1 hr 30 min
- Resting
- 50 hours
- Total
- 51 hr 50 min
- Serves
- 1 x 20 cm cake (12 slices)
You will need Large saucepan · 20 cm round cake tin, 7.5 cm deep · Baking paper · Sieve · Mixing bowls · Spatula · Wire rack · Pastry brush · Foil · Airtight container
Ingredients
Boiled fruit mixture
Cake batter
Orange syrup
Method
Boiled fruit mixture
Put the butter, brown sugar, dried fruit, dates, 160 ml orange juice, orange zest and molasses into a large saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and let it bubble gently for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring now and then.
Tip the mixture into a wide, shallow dish and leave it to cool to room temperature; 45 minutes in the freezer speeds this up. It should thicken as it cools and must not be warm or chilled when you carry on.
Cake
Heat the oven to 140°C fan (160°C conventional). Grease a 20 cm round cake tin about 7.5 cm deep and line the base with baking paper.
Sift the cake flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and mixed spice into a bowl, then whisk briefly to combine.
In a small bowl, beat the oil and eggs together with a fork.
Scrape the cooled fruit mixture into a large bowl, add the egg mixture and fold with a spatula until evenly mixed; it is thick, so take your time.
Fold in the walnuts, then add the dry ingredients and fold only until no streaks of flour remain.
Spread the batter evenly in the tin and tap it on the counter to release large air bubbles. Bake for 75 to 85 minutes, until a skewer pushed into the centre comes out clean.
Leave the cake in the tin for 30 minutes, then run a thin knife around the edge and turn it out, right way up, onto a wire rack.
Orange syrup and resting
While the cake is still warm, heat the 45 ml fresh orange juice and white sugar in a small pot or the microwave until the sugar dissolves.
Brush all of the syrup over the top and sides of the warm cake with a pastry brush.
Once cool, wrap the cake in two layers of foil, place it in an airtight container and leave it somewhere cool and dry for 48 hours before slicing.
Tips
- Allergy note: this cake contains walnuts, so leave them out or swap in extra dried fruit for anyone with a nut allergy, and check that your dried fruit was packed in a nut-free facility.
- If your dates are very soft, skip boiling them and fold them in with the walnuts instead.
- Kept wrapped in foil in an airtight container, the cake stays moist for up to two weeks, and it freezes well for three months.
- For a boozier Christmas cake, swap the syrup's orange juice for brandy and brush on a spoonful more each week.
Moist Boiled Fruit Cake with Orange Syrup: your questions answered
Why is it called a boiled fruit cake?
The dried fruit is simmered with the butter, sugar and juice before the flour goes in, which softens the fruit and gives a moister crumb without long soaking.
How far ahead can I bake a Christmas fruit cake like this?
Bake it at least two days before serving so the flavours settle; wrapped well it keeps for about two weeks, or three months in the freezer.
Can I make it without nuts?
Yes, simply leave out the walnuts or replace them with the same weight of extra dried fruit or glacé cherries.
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