There is nothing better than tucking into a yummy piece of moist Christmas cake on Christmas Eve! Today I’m sharing a few tips to help you ensure that your Christmas cake turns out wonderfully moist and delicious!
I was making my Christmas cake the other day and I realised that there are some things I do that are not in the recipe. They’re not vital to the cake making process but they do ensure that my Christmas cake turns out really moist.
Most of the things I do are due to the advice that my mum has given me over the years. Mum made a Christmas cake every year when I was growing up so she learned lots of handy tips!
I shared my favourite Christmas cake recipe a couple of years ago but I didn’t include all the extra tips. So today I am sharing my top tips for achieving a deliciously moist Christmas cake!
5 Tips for a Wonderfully Moist Christmas Cake
1. Allocate Plenty of Time to Soak Your Fruit
If the recipe says to soak your fruit overnight make sure you give it as long as you can. I have found that if you soak your fruit for 2 -3 days you end up with a really moist Christmas cake.
2. Line Your Baking Tin Well
Insulate the sides of your cake tin as much as possible to avoid the cake drying out around the edges. I use 3 layers of baking paper to line my cake tin when baking my Christmas cake.
3. Low and Slow is the Way to Go!
Cook the Christmas cake at a low temperature 130 – 160 degrees Celsius (270 – 320 °F). The longer the cake takes to cook the more deliciously moist it will be!
4. Prepare the Cake for Storage
Wrap the cake well once cooled. You can leave the baking paper around the cake and then wrap it further with a couple of layers of aluminium foil. I then place my Christmas cake into a plastic bag (make sure to get all the air out) and store it in an airtight container.
5. Allow Enough Time for Flavour to Develop
Christmas cakes are best made 6 – 8 weeks before Christmas so that they have to time really mature in flavour. I have made my Christmas cake as late as mid-November but it is best to make it within a few days of November 1st.
If you’re reading these tips and it is almost Christmas Day it is too late to make a traditional Christmas cake. If you still want a fruit cake for Christmas try making this 3 Ingredient Fruit Cake. It can be prepared in around 24 hours and also seems to develop a lovely flavour when allowed to mature for a few days.
It’s so hard wrapping the cake up and putting it away for six or eight weeks but it is well worth it. It is a special time in our house cutting the Christmas cake on Christmas Eve!
Do you have any other tips for baking a moist Christmas cake?
Love a moist fruit cake thank you for sharing your tips
Using treacle sugar also helps to keep the cake moist.
My late dad used Make beautiful fruit cake can identify your tips with his.
Will remember you tips when I make my next fruit cake.
I learnt most of these tips from watching/helping my Mum make lots of fruit cakes when I was growing up!
And thanks for the treacle sugar suggestion Kathy, I’ll have to keep my eye out for some of that!
Good tips, but would love to see the recipe, it looks so good. Pauline
Hi Pauline, there are a couple of links to the recipe included with my tips (in the intro and a link down the bottom). The recipe is posted separately under the heading of “My Favourite Easy Mix Chrismtas Cake”. If you cut and paste the following link into your browser it will take your straight to it:
https://thelinkssite.com/2012/11/12/my-favourite-easy-mix-christmas-cake/
I make this Christmas cake up every year and the whole family loves it. It will soon be time to make it for this Christmas!
Is there a way to make this xmas cake gluton freep
Hi Penny, if you use my Christmas Cake recipe, the only ingredients that should contain gluten would the the flours. The mixed spice should be okay but I would check just to make sure it was gluten free. Everything else should be fine to use. I haven’t made my Christmas cake recipe using gluten free flour but you should be able to just substitute the plain and SR flour for their gluten free alternatives. I hope that helps.