My Mum’s Christmas cake is a boiled fruitcake, which means some of the ingredients are brought to the boil before the whole mixture is baked. The amounts for the dried fruits are flexible – they can be a little less, or changed around to suit your tastes.
My mother, Isabel Hall, first made this cake in a simpler form (i.e. without all the generous quantity of fruit and nuts) during the war years to send to troops overseas. The recipe had been given to her by her mother-in-law when she was first married in 1940.
She rediscovered the recipe and embellished it for my brother’s 21st birthday in 1963. Since then it has become a family favourite. Cooked every Christmas, for special occasions and for wedding cakes for each of the four children in our family. One was even sent to me in England in the late 70s!
I often double the quantity as I believe if you are going to the effort of making such a cake, you may as well have enough to last. It does have quite good keeping qualities, though it never seems to last long enough in my house for this to be a problem. In times gone by this was known as a one pound cake as it contained one pound of butter.
When I first talked about this cake on radio 2UE in 1988 over 400 people sent in a stamped self-addressed envelope to receive a copy! Now the internet makes it so much easier! Thank you Mum for this recipe and all the love you showed us over the dining table.
Lyndey’s Note: This cake can be made 3 months ahead.
Related Recipes: Little Christmas Cakes with Eggnog Butter Cream
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