I am a huge fan of Christmas cake and this Last Minute Whisky Marmalade Christmas Cake is light and fruity rather than the rich dark fruit cake that is traditionally baked for Christmas.
I am also aware that not everyone manages to make their cake in late October or early November to allow it to mature in time for Christmas, so it’s really nice to have a lighter cake that can be made and eaten straight away.
This recipe is great to make any time of the year, but I’ve dressed it up a bit for the festive season.
I’m delighted to say that this post is part of #ChristmaswithMackays a 12 days of Christmas feature being run by Mackays, a family-run Scottish company that make their preserves in small batches in the traditional way.
I used Mackays Orange Marmalade with Whisky to add a fresh and fruity flavour and the warmth of whisky to the Whisky Marmalade Christmas Cake.
Just to make sure the Scotch Whisky flavour comes through in the cake, a tablespoon of blended whisky is added to the cake mixture, you can use any kind of whisky.
How to make Last Minute Whisky Marmalade Christmas Cake
Last Minute Whisky Marmalade Christmas Cake
A light and fruity cake which includes whisky and whisky marmalade, it's ideal to make as a last minute or alternative Christmas cake or just make it anytime you want a delicious cut and come again cake
Ingredients
For Cake
- 175 grams soft margarine or butter
- 175 grams caster sugar
- 250 grams self-raising flour
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 175 grams sultanas
- 125 grams raisins
- 50 g mixed peel
- 50 g glace cherries halved
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp mixed spice
- 2 tbsp Mackays Orange Marmalade with Whisky
- 1 tbsp Whisky
For Topping
- 1 clementine sliced thinly
- 1 tbsp caster sugar
- 2 tbsp water
- glace cherries
- Mixed nuts
Instructions
To make the cake:
- Pre-heat the oven to 325F, 160C and grease and line an 8in/20cm round cake tin.
- Put all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
- Fill the tin with the mixture, smoothing the top.
- Bake for 2 hours or until a skewer comes out clean. If the cake appears to be browning too quickly place a piece of foil over the top of the tin.
- Allow the cake to cool in the tin for about 10 minutes, then turn onto a rack and leave until completely cold.
To make the topping
- Place the sugar and water in a saucepan and heat slowly until all the sugar has melted.
- Bring to the boil and simmer for about 5 minutes until it starts to thicken and become like syrup.
- Add the clementine slices and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Watch it carefully to make sure the sugar syrup does not dry up.
- Lift the clementine slices out of the syrup and place on a sheet of baking parchment to cool.
- Set aside the syrup to cool.
- Brush the top of the cake with the cooled syrup and place the clementine slices, cherries, and nuts in an attractive pattern over the top of the cake. Brush the nuts and fruits with the syrup.
Nutrition
Calories: 280kcalCarbohydrates: 45gProtein: 3gFat: 10gSaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 58mgSodium: 100mgPotassium: 185mgFiber: 1gSugar: 24gVitamin A: 325IUVitamin C: 3.1mgCalcium: 23mgIron: 0.7mg
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You can top the cake with fruit and nuts as I have, you can leave it plain or cover with marzipan and either royal icing or fondant to create a more traditional looking Christmas Cake.
More Last Minute Christmas Recipes
Thanks to Claire at Mackays for the samples of Mackays Marmalades, I was not paid for this post and all opinions are my own.
belleau kitchen says
really looks lighter than the average christmas cake which I find too heavy… love the addition of marmalade to cake too so this must be gorgeous… loving your pics too, looking SO good… love, love, love x
Rebecca Subbiah says
looks like the perfect fruit cake
Janice Pattie says
Thanks you both XXX
Anne Szadorska says
As much as I like traditional dark heavy Christmas cakes I do prefer lighter ones, I really like the topping on yours is so glistening and lovely!
Choclette says
you've made the cake look really pretty Janice. I'm not a fan of heavy fruit cake, but this one looks really delicious. Maybe I'll make a Christmas cake after all.
Jacqui Bellefontaine says
as a lover of fruit cake (actually cake in general) Im a firm believer that fruit cake isn’t just for Christmas. This fruit cake look so good and i bet the whiskey adds a lovely extra punch to the cake. Thank you for linking to #CookBlogShare
Janice Pattie says
Thanks, Jacqui. I love all fruit cakes too, and yes, the whisky adds a lovely flavour.
Laura says
I just made this but as written I did not manage to make a proper batter, it turned into dry crumbs. Was the recipe meant to include eggs to bind it all together? I added a few spoons of yogurt and some milk as a binder and it looked more like a normal cake batter. Waiting for it to finish baking now.
Janice Pattie says
I am so sorry, Laura. You are absolutely correct there should be 2 large eggs in the recipe. I updated to a new recipe card and they seem to have disappeared from the recipe. I hope your cake turns out okay, Please accept my most sincere apologies.
Laura says
No problem, it all worked out. For anyone with an egg allergy, 3 heaped teaspoons of yogurt and just enough milk to make a smooth batter works great too. Cake came out great, I’m sure with the eggs it would have also. 🙂
Janice Pattie says
That’s great news, Laura and thanks for the tips on the egg free option. I’ll add that to the recipe after the holiday.