Authentic Kid-friendly Christmas Cake

This recipe really doesn’t need much of an introduction! If you’re craving a rich, moist, and beautifully loaded Christmas Cake – but without the alcohol – this Kid-friendly Christmas Cake is exactly what you need. It delivers all the classic Christmassy goodness and depth of flavour you love in a traditional fruit cake, just minus the booziness.

So while you indulge in my original whiskey-loaded Christmas Cake, let the little ones happily munch on this kid-friendly version made just for them!

How to make the Kid-friendly Christmas Cake?

Although the recipe remains the same as that of my regular Christmas Cake, this Kid-friendly Christmas Cake notably has one different ingredient. The alcohol in the recipe is replaced with orange juice. The fruit is soaked in Orange juice instead of the alcohol. And when soaking the fruit in the orange juice, do remember to prep the other ingredients too. This is necessary to ensure; all the flavours infuse well.

Since this cake is baked for a longtime (4 hours), to prevent burning on the outside, line the tin with a double layer of parchment paper and then cover the tin with a newspaper and place it on a double layer of newspaper while baking. Paper is a bad conductor of heat and hence it prevents the exterior of the cake from getting burnt. However, do exercise caution using newspaper in a gas oven. Also do note that I have used an 8″ square cake tin instead of a round tin. This way, one can easily distinguish between the alcoholic & non-alcoholic versions of this cake.

If you cannot source the Mixed Spice at your local store, you can very easily make your own at home using this Recipe

What’s great about this cake is that, being completely alcohol-free, there’s no feeding required at all. However, because it contains no alcohol, it won’t keep for an extended period. This cake is best enjoyed within a week or two of baking – though honestly, that’s rarely an issue, as it tends to get gobbled up in no time! Just keep it air-tight.

Kid-friendly Christmas Cake

Jason Alfred Castelino @ www.oneplateplease.com

A delightful rich-moist, non-alcoholic, sweet-spiced British Fruit Cake full of mixed dry-fruits

5 from 1 vote

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 4 hours hrs

Total Time 4 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Course Christmas, Dessert

Cuisine English Cuisine, Scottish Cuisine

Servings 1 8″ Cake

Equipment

• 8" Cake Tin
• Parchment paper
• Kitchen string
• Newspapers

Ingredients

  

For Soaking:

• 200 grams Raisins
• 200 grams Sultanas
• 200 grams Currants
• 100 grams Cherries
• 100 grams Dates
• 140 ml Orange Juice

For the Flour-mix

• 225 grams All purpose flour
• 1 tsp Mixed Spice powder
• 1 tsp Cocoa powder (I used dutch processed cocoa powder)
• ½ tsp Cinnamon powder
• ½ tsp Nutmeg powder

For the Butter-Sugar mix:

• 175 grams Butter, (unsalted)
• 175 grams Brown Sugar (soft)
• 1 tsp Lemon rind
• 1 tsp Orange rind
• 1 tbsp Black Treacle

Other ingredients for the Cake-batter:

• 4 Eggs (medium)
• 1 tbsp Orange Juice

Instructions

 

Preword:

• The ingredients for this cake need to be prepped the night before to allow the flavours to infuse well. Please read all the instructions carefully
• As with all cake recipes, the ingredients need to be at room temperature, before you begin making the batter
• Happy Baking!

Soaking the fruits:

• Soak the raisins, sultanas, currants in a bowl of water for 30 mins
• Soak the cherries separately in another bowl of water for 30 mins
• Similarly, soak the dates too. However, you can skip this step if the dates are moist
• After 30 mins, drain out all the water using a sieve. Chop the cherries into halves or quarters and similarly chop the dates too. Place all the fruits in a large enough bowl or an air-tight container
• Add the Orange Juice to the bowl and give it a good mix.
• Cover the bowl with cling-film and set aside

Preparing the Flour-mix:

• Sieve the All-purpose flour along with the mixed spice, cocoa powder, cinnamon and nutmeg
• Mix well and place in an air-tight container

Preparing the Butter-Sugar mix:

• Place the butter along with the brown sugar, lemon and orange rind in an air-tight container

Preparing the Cake batter and baking instructions:

• Preheat the oven (Top & Bottom heat) to 150°C
• Line an 8 inch Cake tin with a double layer of parchment paper and keep it ready
• In a large enough mixing bowl, take the butter-sugar mix along with the black treacle and beat it with a hand-mixer/stand mixer on medium speed until light and smooth
• Add an egg and beat on low speed till well combined
• Follow this with a tbsp of the Flour mix and beat on low speed till well combined
• Repeat this step until all the eggs have been added. Reserve the remaining flour-mix for later
• Add the soaked fruits to the mixing bowl and gently combine everything using a spatula
• Add the remaining flour and the orange juice and fold with a spatula until all the flour has been well combined
• Transfer the batter to the prepared cake tin and tap the tin several times on the work-surface to settle the batter in the tin. Make a slight well in the center
• Cover the cake tin and wrap the outside of the tin with a newspaper and tie it down using a kitchen string (see notes)
• Place in the bottom rack of the oven over a double layer of newspapers (exercise caution if using a gas oven) and bake at 150°C for 30 mins
• At the end of 30 mins, lower the temperature to 110°C and bake for another 3½ hours
• At the end of this baking time, insert a toothpick into the cake and check if it comes out clean. If it doesn’t, then continue baking and checking in intervals of 10-15 mins until the toothpick comes out clean
• Take the cake tin out of the oven and allow it to cool completely

Storing the cake:

• Once the cake has cooled completely, using a tooth-pick pierce the cake at regular intervals
• After a few hours, once the cake has cooled completely, take it out of the tin but leave it in the parchment paper it was baked in
• Cover the cake completely with parchment paper, followed with two layers of aluminium foil
• Place it in an air-tight container and store in a cool-dry place, away from strong smells

Serving suggestions:

• Cut the cake on Christmas Eve, as shown in the images above, to ensure effective storing of the cake for the coming days
• Enjoy the cake on its own!
• Alternately you can enjoy a slice of the cake with a piece of hard cheese like Cheddar, Lancaster or Wensleydale and a Granny Smith’s Apple, making it a meal in itself

Notes

• Since this is an alcohol-free cake, it will not preserve well for a long time. It is best enjoyed within a week or two after baking

Keyword Christmas Cake, Fruit Cake, Kid-friendly Christmas Cake

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