Small Christmas Cake
This deliciously soft and moist 5 inch Small Christmas Cake is packed to to the brim with a variety of different fruits, nuts and mellow Christmas spices and because it is so moist there is no need to mature a cake for weeks before, it is perfect right away!
This is the best Christmas Cake I have ever made, and I have been making a Christmas Cake annually since I was 13 years old!
I wasn't going to add this cake to the blog because it was made from whatever fruits and nuts I foraged from deep within my cupboards and really only started out as just a cake for me for Christmas. But, because I am just smitten with it, I've decided it deserves its own blog spot in which to shine.
My other Easy Boiled Fruit Cake recipe is similar but made with just sultanas, currants and raisins.
This recipe is for a 5-inch Christmas Cake, however, just use the toggle button in the recipe card if you want to alter the quantities for a bigger or smaller cake.
The recipe is totally versatile and you can change the ingredients to fit with what you like or what you have available. See below in "Ingredients" for more information regards the substitutions you can make.
I hope you like it, I have managed to eat my way through the first one already 🤭 so I am already planning Christmas Cake take two!
Enjoy, and please give me feedback in the comments below if you can. I'd love to know how you all get on, especially your fruit and nut combination changes if you make them!
🤶🎄🤶
No time? Want an easy, quick mince pie recipe? Then try my
Puff Pastry Mince Pies
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Why Make this Small Christmas Cake?
Beautifully moist cake ✔️
No need to make weeks early✔️
5-inch cake, the perfect size for two✔️
Packed with lots of different textures and flavours ✔️
Plentiful variety of fruits and nuts ✔️
Soft and moist cake ✔️
Ingredients and Substitutions
So, the beauty of this cake is you can change the ingredients easily.
The key rule is to just keep to the same quantities as per the original recipe to ensure the Christmas Cake remains soft and moist.
Below I list the ingredients I used when making this 5" Christmas Cake and the substitutions you can make if you want to.
One thing to bear in mind though is to try to keep to a variety of fruits and nuts, it just makes for a far more interesting fruit cake with lots of varying flavours and textures.
Below are some suggestions for substitutions. Substitute for the same weight as listed in the recipe, for example, if using a bag of mixed fruit instead of raisins/currants/sultanas use 405 grams.
Mixed fruit
Can be replaced with a mixture of raisins, currants and sultanas. You want to go a bit heavier on the raisins though, so I would suggest 100 grams of raisins and 50 grams of sultanas and currants.
Apricots and Prunes
You can use more apricots than prunes or vice versa.
Or replace partly or entirely with dried raisins/currants/sultanas/cranberries/apricots/prunes/dates/figs as these will work just as well.
Dried cranberries
If you don't want to add cranberries just increase the number of mixed fruit by 30 grams.
Walnuts and almonds
You can change the ratio of walnuts to almonds and use more of one than the other, or use Chopped nuts/pecan nuts or a combination of any.
Morello glace cherries
Replace with glace cherries or leave them out entirely if you so wish. If leaving out I recommend you increase the number of prunes you add or replace with half prunes and half ready-to-eat dates or figs, chopped.
Dark muscovado sugar
You can replace it with light muscovado sugar, dark brown sugar or light brown soft sugar.
Treacle (molasses)
Can be replaced with the same amount of golden syrup or 1 tablespoon of honey.
Mixed spice
can be replaced with half a teaspoon of ground cinnamon and a quarter of a teaspoon of ground nutmeg.
Cocoa
You can replace the cocoa with a tablespoon of grated dark chocolate.
Unsalted butter
You can use salted butter but omit the pinch of salt.
Orange juice
Can be replaced with pineapple juice or just another tablespoon of water.
Brandy
Can be replaced with the same amount of Sherry or Port or with 2 teaspoons of Amaretto or Cointreau.
Demerara sugar
Can be replaced with a covering of blanched almonds or left off altogether.
Instructions
See end of post RECIPE CARD for precise quantities and instructions.
The most time-consuming element of making this 5-inch Christmas Cake is preparing your ingredients. Then it is a case of just mixing and baking.
- Firstly, prepare your baking tin. Grease the whole of your tin with butter and then cut out a circle the size of the base of your tin. Cut out two long strips to go around the sides of the tin. Fold the paper over on the long side by about 1.5 inches, then snip it at every inch and place it into your tin and then place your circle onto the base.
- To prepare your fruit add your mixed fruit and dried cranberries, butter, dark brown sugar, treacle, cocoa, water and spices into your large saucepan and heat on a low setting, stirring until the butter has melted.
- Then bring to a boil and immediately turn the heat down and simmer gently for 1 minute. This rehydrates the fruit so that they are all plumped up.
- Then leave the fruit mixture to cool entirely before moving to the next stage.
- Once cooled, stir in your prunes, cherries, brandy, orange juice, zests apricots and nuts.
- Beat your egg lightly and sift your flours and salt together.
- Then, add your beaten egg along and fold in, before folding in the rest of your flour. We fold rather than mix in order to keep as much air in the cake batter as possible.
- Bake in your prepared tin for about 1 hour and 10 minutes. As this is a moist cake, a skewer inserted into the centre should come out with a few fudgy bits of cake stuck to it.
Did you try this recipe?
Please leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating in the Recipe Card below.
STORAGE
I tend to make it quite near to Christmas usually and so have never had to store it very long but if stored correctly it will keep for up to 4 months (maybe more but I have tried it beyond that!).
To store the cake once cool first wrap it in greaseproof (parchment) paper one way and then a piece the other way, so that the paper complete covers it. Then do the same with 2 large pieces of foil. Make sure all of the layers and nice and tight. Place the now fully covered cake into an air tight tin and then store at room temperature.
FAQ
You need to allow the marzipan to dry before icing the cake. Therefore cover in marzipan and then cover in a layer of greaseproof (parchment) paper and then a layer of foil and put away in an airtight container for a week. Then you can ice your cake. Ice your cake 24 hours before you intend to consume it.
Linked Recipes
There are lots of Christmas recipes on Ella's Better Bakes, here are just a few...
📖 Recipe
Small Christmas Cake
Here's what you'll need...
- 5 inch loose-bottomed cake tin
- Large saucepan preferably heavy based
Ingredients you'll need...
If you do not have all of the ingredients below, see blog post or Notes below for suggested substitutions. For example, you can use extra mixed fruit to replace the cranberries, or omit the prunes and use double apricots. You can even omit prunes or apricots and add the same amount of chopped stem ginger for a gingery kick. You can leave out the brandy if you like and add orange juice instead, or vice versa. Really anything goes!
Christmas Cake Stage 1
- 200 g Mixed dried fruit
- 75 g Dark muscovado sugar or dark brown sugar
- 50 g Unsalted butter
- 25 g Dried cranberries
- 1 teaspoon Dark treacle (US = molasses)
- 1 teaspoon Cocoa powder
- ¾ teaspoon Ground mixed spice
- ¼ teaspoon Ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon Bicarbonate of soda
- 115 ml Cold water
Christmas Cake Stage 2
- 25 g Prunes (ready to eat)
- 60 g Morello or glace cherries halved
- 35 g Dried Apricots (read to eat)
- 20 g Whole almonds chopped into small pieces - ie each one cut into three
- 20 g Walnuts chopped into small pieces
- 1 tablespoon Brandy
- 1 tablespoon Orange juice (fresh)
- 1 teaspoon Orange zest
- 1 teaspoon Lemon zest
Christmas Cake Stage 3
- 50 g Plain flour
- 50 g Self-raising flour
- 1 Large egg at room temperature and lightly beaten
- ¼ teaspoon pinch salt
- Demerara sugar to sprinkle of top (optional)
Here's what we do...
Christmas Cake Stage 1
- Add all of the Stage 1 ingredients to your saucepan.
- Heat on a low setting until your butter has melted, then turn up the heat and simmer gently for 1 minute.
- Leave to cool completely.
Christmas Cake Stage 2
- Once your Stage 1 mixture has cooled add all of your Stage 2 ingredients and mix together thoroughly.
Christmas Cake Stage 3
- Heat your oven 140°C Fan/160°C/320°FGas Mark 3.
- Line the base and sides of your 6 inch baking tin with greaseproof paper (see blog post for instructions).
- Sift together your flours and salt.
- Fold your beaten egg into your cooled dried fruits mixture and then gently fold in the flour until fully incorporated.
- Tip your Christmas Cake mixture into your prepared tin and sprinkle over a tablespoon or so of demerara sugar, if using.
- Bake in the centre of your pre-heated oven for about 1 hour and 5 minutes.
- Your cake is baked once it has set on top and is shiny and firm. A skewer inserted into the centre should come out with a few fudgy bits of cake still stuck to it, but without lots of wet cake batter.
- Leave to cool in your tin for 15 minutes, then invert onto a cooling rack.
Supporting Notes
Or replace partly or entirely with dried raisins/currants/sultanas/cranberries/apricots/prunes/dates/figs as these will work just as well.
- Check your dried fruits to ensure they are not stuck together in clumps and if so pull them apart.
- Ensure your Christmas cake is fully cooled before storing it otherwise, it can become a little sticky.
Is this recipe a good replacement for a trad Christmas cake? I have several to make and like this seems quick and easy. My cake eaters are very traditional so I need to know they won’t know the difference 😬
Hi Irene, I have used this recipe for a traditional Christmas Cake, it has all of the ingredients but is slightly lighted in overall texture.
Thank you…. one more question …. I thought the tins I ordered were 5” but they are 4.5” or 115 mm diam. how should I adjust the ingredients please.
Hi Irene, in the Recipe Card you can alter the number of slices the cakes makes and that will automatically reduce the ingredients appropriately. I suggest taking it down to 5 slices for a 4.5" tin. You can use a whole egg, that will be fine. Hope your lovely little cakes turn out well 😍
Thank you 🙏🏻
Hi Ella I’m a big confused - at the beginning you mention it’s a 5” cake then further down it says 6” cake and later that the ingredients are for a 7” cake! Which size cake tin should I use?
Hi Christine, my apologies I reduced the quantities so the cake fits a 5 inch tin, but forgot to update the whole post. I have done this now and can confirm the recipe is for a 5 inch tin. If you do want to make a larger cake you can use the toggle button in the recipe card to increase the ingredient quantities.
Hi Ella,
Please could you tell me how to store this cake and how long should it last?
Hi Elaine, first of all apologies for the delay in my response. I wanted to double check the storage for this cake first. Truth is I tend to make it quite near to Christmas usually and so have never had to store it very long. Good news is that I can now confirm that the cake will store well for at least 4 months. After storage the cake has amazing density and depth of flavour, honestly testing it out was a joy 🤣! To store the cake once cool first wrap it in greaseproof (parchment) paper one way and then a piece the other way, so that the paper complete covers it. Then do the same with 2 large pieces of foil. Make sure all of the layers and nice and tight. Place the now fully covered cake into an air tight tin and then store at room temperature.
If I half the recipie to 5 servings what size cake tin will I need?
Hi, if you are halving the quantities I would recommend using a 4 inch springform tin instead.