Walnut and whisky Christmas cake recipe

A good Christmas cake will last you the whole of the holiday. A great one, like this wonderful walnut and whisky cake, will be around for a couple of days, tops.

Serves 16

Takes about 25 minutes to make, about 2 1/2 hours to bake, plus cooling and 24 hours' soaking

Ingredients

175g raisins
175g sultanas
175g ready-to-eat stoned dates, roughly chopped
150g natural glacé cherries, halved
100g ready-to-eat dried pears, roughly chopped (try Waitrose or health food shops, or use dried ready-to-eat apple)
75g crystallised stem ginger, finely chopped
Finely grated zest of 1 large lemon
250ml whisky
175g unsalted butter, softened
175g dark muscovado sugar
4 eggs, beaten
200g self-raising flour, sifted
1 tbsp golden syrup
2 tsp ground allspice
150g walnut halves, toasted
Fresh bay leaf sprigs, to decorate
Fresh cranberries (if using frozen, thaw and pat dry), to decorate

For the whisky butter icing

450g golden icing sugar
150g unsalted butter, softened
3 tbsp glucose syrup
3-4 tbsp whisky

METHOD

How to make walnut and whisky xmas cake

1. Put the raisins, sultanas, dates, cherries, pears, ginger and lemon zest into a large bowl. Pour over the whisky, cover and leave to soak for 24 hours, stirring occasionally, until the fruit has absorbed the liquid.

2. Grease the base and sides of a deep 20cm springform cake tin and line with a double thickness of baking paper, ensuring the paper sits higher than the tin. Weigh out 300g of the soaked fruit and tip into a food processor. Blend the fruit to a thick, dark purée.

3. Preheat the oven to 150°C/fan130°C/gas 2. Using an electric hand whisk, beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the eggs, adding a little flour to prevent the mixture curdling. Fold in the remaining flour, along with the fruit purée, remaining soaked fruit, golden syrup, allspice and walnuts, until combined. Spoon into the prepared tin and level the surface. Bake for 21/2 hours or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Cool in the tin for 1 hour, then turn out and cool completely on a wire rack.

4. Make the whisky butter icing. Gradually beat the icing sugar into the butter, adding the glucose syrup and enough whisky as you go until the icing is smooth and spreadable. Spread over the top and sides of the cake, swirling it with a palette knife. Decorate with the bay leaves and cranberries to serve.

Tip: Wrap the un-iced cake in baking paper and store in an airtight container in a cool place for up to 3 months. Once iced, store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.