Treat loved ones with one of these deliciously moist and fruity mini Christmas cakes. Simply divide the mixture into four and decorate these mini cakes for beautiful festive treats for friends and family.
About this Mini Christmas Cakes recipe
These Mini Christmas Cakes might be small, but they packed full of the rich, fruity flavour you’d expect from a classic christmas cake recipe. Let’s be honest, it can often be hard to finish a whole classic Christmas Cake, so these mini twists on the classic version are the perfect solution.
These simple mini cakes are wonderfully rich thanks to Billington’s Light Muscovado Sugar which gives subtle hints of warm honey and creamy fudgy flavour, making it one of the finest light brown sugars in the World, and exactly what your Christmas baking deserves this festive season.
How to decorate my Christmas Cake?
The key to ensuring your Christmas Cake is smooth and uniform in shape is using an icing smoother (which you can pick up at most baking stores online), as well as ensuring your apricot jam is applied smoothly without any chunks of fruit. This way you’ll create the perfect white canvas to decorate your Christmas Cakes as beautifully as possible. Why not pop a ribbon on your cakes to give them the final ‘wow’ factor? This is also a nice hack for covering up any untidy edges to your white fondant icing. We used red and green ribbon tied with a bow to give our Mini Christmas Cakes an extra festive finishing touch.
Making a Christmas Cake from scratch is one of the most magical moments of home baking at Christmas. Filling your home with the wonderful scent of spiced fruit and ginger, and gifting these to a friend or loved one is why we love baking at Christmas. If you’re looking for baking ideas this Christmas we have a huge selection of baker-approved recipes; from centrepiece showstoppers to quick & easy baking ideas for the kids this festive season.
If you’re baking these Mini Christmas Cakes as a gift for someone, we have plenty more edibile gifting ideas to tempt you with; from our simple Christmas Cookies in a Jar, to our Christmas Pudding Cake
Ingredients
- 275 gram (10 ounce) butter, softened
- 225 gram (8 ounce) soft brown sugar
- 6 medium eggs, beaten
- 275 gram (10 ounce) plain flour, sifted
- 2 teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
- 2 teaspoon Ground Ginger
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon Ground
- 1 teaspoon Mixed Spic
- 100 gram (4 ounce) ground almonds
- 350 gram (12 ounce) currants
- 350 gram (12 ounce) raisins
- 350 gram (12 ounce) sultanas
- 175 gram (6 ounce) glace cherries, chopped
- 175 gram (6 ounce) mixed peel, chopped
- 50 gram (2 ounce) almonds, roughly chopped
- Zest and juice of 1 lemon
- 6 tablespoons brandy
- 1 jar apricot jam
- 900 gram (2 pounds) marzipan
- 900 gram fondant icing
Preparation
Pre-heat the oven to 170°C, 325°F, Gas Mark 3. Grease and double line the base and sides of a 18cm (7″) loose bottomed square cake tin.
Cream the butter and sugar together until pale. Gradually beat in the eggs, adding a little of the flour if necessary. Sift the remaining flour and spices together and fold into the mixture. Stir in the remaining dry ingredients and lemon and spoon into the prepared tin.
Smooth the surface of the cake and then make a dip in the centre. Take a strip of brown wrapping paper and wrap around the cake to form a collar. Secure with string and bake the cake in the oven for 1 hour.
Reduce the temperature to 140°C, 275°F, Gas Mark 1. Bake for a further 2½-3 hours. Cover the cake with greaseproof paper to prevent the top from over browning, if necessary.
Remove from the oven and leave to cool slightly before turning out of the tin. Peel away the lining paper and prick the base with a skewer. Pour the brandy over and then wrap in greaseproof paper and foil and store in an airtight container until ready to decorate.
When ready to decorate, carefully cut the cake into 4 even squares. Brush the individual cakes with warmed, sieved apricot jam and cover each with marzipan. Knead the fondant icing into 4 even balls and roll out each onto a lightly icing sugar covered surface. Brush the marzipan with a little brandy and lift the icing over each cake. Smooth well and trim each of the bases.
Decorate each cake with ribbon and baubles. Each cake makes a fantastic gift.
We recommend baking your Christmas cake in November and then storing until 1-2 weeks before Christmas, when you can decorate it. Remember that after decorating you should store the individual cakes in a non-airtight container to prevent the icing from going soggy.