Nanas Christmas cake
Shared by Bridget · 14 October 2026
The story behind the recipe
My nana taught me this recipe when I was 5/6 years old and I made it every year with her up until she passed away, I have no started the tradition with my own little girl (5years old) baking this cake and have it every Christmas since. She always said her mam taught her the recipes so it’s past through the generations. I hope once my little ones get older that they too will continue to make this cake
- Bridget
Ingredients
200 g raisins 200 g sultanas 200 g currants 200 g dried cranberries 200 g glace cherries 75 g mixed peel zest of 2 lemons juice of 2 lemons 175 ml alcohol (I used brandy) 250 g unsalted butter 200 g light brown soft sugar 50 g treacle 200 g self raising flour 100 g ground almonds 2 tsp mixed spice 1 tsp ground ginger 1 tsp ground cinnamon 1 tsp ground nutmeg 5 medium eggs 2 tsp vanilla extract
Method
Add the raisins, sultanas, currants, dried cranberries, glacé cherries, mixed peel, lemon zest, lemon juice, brandy, butter, light brown sugar and treacle to a large bowl Mix these together, and then heat in the microwave for 5 minutes on high, letting the butter melt, and stir together well. Alternatively, add all of the ingredients to a large pan, bring to the boil, and simmer for 10 minutes. Leave the mixture to cool for 30 minutes. During this time, preheat the oven to 150ºc/130ºc fan Once cooled, add the self raising flour, ground almonds, mixed spice, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, eggs and vanilla to the bowl and mix until combined Pour into a deep 8" cake tin that is lined on the based and sides well. You don't want any tin showing as it may get stuck Pour the mixture into the lined tin, and bake for 2 hours. Keep an eye on it towards the end, if its browning too much, cover lightly with foil Once baked, remove from the oven and prick with a fork. Spoon over 2-3 more brandy and cool
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