Nigel Slater's Small Rich Christmas Fruitcake Recipe (2024)

Nigel Slater's Small Rich Christmas Fruitcake Recipe (1)

I love making fruit cakes at Christmas time as the smell reminds me of my childhood. I have many recipes for this wonderful cake and I tend to try out a different one every year. Mum tends to make a 10″ boiled fruit cake which was so moist, while I have made many different ones including a delicious dense sugee fruit cake recipe which I love. This year I am making Nigel Slater’s small rich fruit cake recipe which was one of the first recipes I made when I moved to the UK. This year with Staffordshire being in Tier 3 lockdown, we won’t be having our friends come visit, so I have opted to make this small sized cake which is the perfect size to last us from Christmas to the New Year.

Fruit Cakes are usually made three months before Christmas but I tend to make mine on Stir up Sunday, which is the last Sunday in November. This is the day, most British bakers make their Christmas puddings. If you are making this cake, remember to double line the cake tin and to feed the cake brandy to keep it moist. In the UK with the cold temperature, cakes keep easier. I double wrap mine with parchment paper and foil and store it in an airtight cake tin. Perfect to be eaten with my favourite tipple, a glass of warm mulled cider or wine.

Nigel Slater's Small Rich Christmas Fruitcake Recipe (2)

Here’s a youtube video of how to make this delicious fruit cake recipe for a small family.

Feel free to Pin this image on your Pinterest Account so you can remember to try this for Christmas

Nigel Slater's Small Rich Christmas Fruitcake Recipe (3)

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Please leave a comment or tag tag us on social media if you do try these recipes. Please tag @yeah.foodie on Instagram, @yeahfoodie Twitter or @yeahfoodieblog on Facebook with a photo. Please also subscribe to our mailing list to receive more of my Family Favourite Recipes from East to West directly via your inbox.

Nigel Slater's Small Rich Christmas Fruitcake Recipe (4)

yeahfoodieI love making fruit cakes at Christmas time as the smell reminds me of my childhood. I have many recipes for this wonderful cake and I tend to try out…BakingNigel Slater Small Fruitcake British Print This

Serves: 12 Prep Time: Cooking Time:

Nutrition facts:200 calories20 grams fat

Rating: 3.1/5

( 76 voted )

Ingredients

  • 450g dried fruits (I've added citrus peel and cherries to mine, you can add pru
  • 3 tbsp brandy
  • 1 orange (zest and juice)
  • 125g butter
  • 70g light muscovado sugar
  • 55g dark muscovado sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 70g chopped hazelnuts
  • 40g ground almonds
  • 125g plain flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • a knife point ground cinnamon
  • a knife point ground nutmeg
  • pinch of allspice
  • brandy for feeding the cake

Instructions

1. Chop dried fruits and pre-soak it with 3 tbsp brandy and add the orange juice and zest. You can leave this for a few hours or best kept for 3 days in a closed tupperware.

Nigel Slater's Small Rich Christmas Fruitcake Recipe (5)

2. Heat the oven to 160C. Double line an 8" round cake tin or a 2lb loaf tin. I have used a loaf tin today as I had run out of parchment paper. If you are using a round cake tin, line the tin twice at the bottom, and make sure to also line the side of the tin so that the parchment paper is at least 5cm above the edge of the tin.

3. Beat butter and castor sugar till fluffy. Texture should be like soft ice-cream.
Nigel Slater's Small Rich Christmas Fruitcake Recipe (6)

4. Add eggs one at a time and mix thoroughly. If mixture curdles, add 1 or 2 tbsp of the flour.
Nigel Slater's Small Rich Christmas Fruitcake Recipe (7)

5. Mix in the dried fruits, ground almonds and chopped hazelnuts

Nigel Slater's Small Rich Christmas Fruitcake Recipe (8)

6. Mix in the flour, baking powder and spices

Nigel Slater's Small Rich Christmas Fruitcake Recipe (9)

7. Bake the cake at 160C for around 60-80 minutes until the cake is cooked. If you find that the cake is browning too quickly, cover it with foil.

Nigel Slater's Small Rich Christmas Fruitcake Recipe (10)

8. Pour a few tablespoons of brandy when cake is still warm and continue to feed the cake with brandy until Christmas Dy to keep the cake moist. This cake can easily be made a month before Christmas. Keep it covered in parchment paper and foil and store in in an airtight cake tin.

Nigel Slater's Small Rich Christmas Fruitcake Recipe (11)

CakeChristmas

Nigel Slater's Small Rich Christmas Fruitcake Recipe (12)

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17 comments

Nigel Slater's Small Rich Christmas Fruitcake Recipe (13)

Maria27 November 2020 - 2:09 pm

Yummy. I bet this cake taste just as good as it looks. I cannot wait for Christmas to prepare some cakes and cookies.

Reply

Nigel Slater's Small Rich Christmas Fruitcake Recipe (14)

yeahfoodie27 November 2020 - 3:23 pm

We are starting this weekend with baking more cookies

Reply

Nigel Slater's Small Rich Christmas Fruitcake Recipe (15)

Amary27 November 2020 - 2:12 pm

This looks delicious will try this before christams if I get it right then it’s on christmas menu 🙂

Reply

Nigel Slater's Small Rich Christmas Fruitcake Recipe (16)

yeahfoodie27 November 2020 - 3:23 pm

Glad to hear that, hope it goes well for you

Reply

Nigel Slater's Small Rich Christmas Fruitcake Recipe (17)

Mosaic Designs27 November 2020 - 9:20 pm

This looks so so good! I would love to bake it, it looks soooo Christmasy.

Reply

Nigel Slater's Small Rich Christmas Fruitcake Recipe (18)

yeahfoodie3 December 2020 - 10:11 pm

Thank you and hope you do give it a try

Reply

Nigel Slater's Small Rich Christmas Fruitcake Recipe (19)

Melissa Cushing28 November 2020 - 11:22 pm

Oh my goodness… I am so excited about this and am for sure making this recipe. My husband will love this and I am pinning the recipe next to my Pinterest board as well. Too good not to 🙂

Reply

Nigel Slater's Small Rich Christmas Fruitcake Recipe (20)

yeahfoodie3 December 2020 - 10:11 pm

Agree, it is a fabulous cake which is foolproof

Reply

Nigel Slater's Small Rich Christmas Fruitcake Recipe (21)

Everything Enchanting29 November 2020 - 6:01 pm

Oh yummy! But may I know why do you make Christmas cake so early like in November or as you mentioned 3 months before 25th December? Why not make a fresh cake just before the Christmas day!Please excuse my ignorance as I never baked a cake in my life!

Reply

Nigel Slater's Small Rich Christmas Fruitcake Recipe (22)

yeahfoodie3 December 2020 - 10:13 pm

For fruitcakes we tend to make it early so we feed it with brandy, so by the time it is Christmas, it will be nice and moist. I tend to make mine usually in November, some my friends in the UK make it in October.

Reply

Nigel Slater's Small Rich Christmas Fruitcake Recipe (23)

michelle twin mum30 November 2020 - 11:21 am

Yum, that looks really good. I’ve never thought about doing a small loaf cake , I always make a massive Christmas cake. My fruit is busy soaking at the moment. Mich x

Reply

Nigel Slater's Small Rich Christmas Fruitcake Recipe (24)

yeahfoodie3 December 2020 - 10:13 pm

Yes I tend to make a large cake too, but this year we are not having visitors so its just for us so the size is perfect

Reply

Spicy Dark Ginger Cake Recipe Which is Perfect for Winter8 January 2021 - 11:46 am

[…] Nigel Slater’s Small Rich Christmas Fruit Cake Recipe […]

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Nigel Slater's Small Rich Christmas Fruitcake Recipe (25)

Denise Howe2 January 2022 - 5:01 pm

Could I just check recipe is it 70 individual hazelnuts or is it 70grams

Reply

Nigel Slater's Small Rich Christmas Fruitcake Recipe (26)

yeahfoodie20 February 2022 - 12:36 pm

It is 70g Denise, hope you made the cake

Reply

Nigel Slater's Small Rich Christmas Fruitcake Recipe (27)

lesley de banke26 November 2022 - 3:49 pm

Hi, lovely recipe. Thank you ever so much. I added melted dark chocolate & a dash of rum too. Lesley 🙂

Reply

Nigel Slater's Small Rich Christmas Fruitcake Recipe (28)

yeahfoodie16 July 2023 - 6:54 pm

I bet it tasted amazing with the chocolate and rum addition

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Nigel Slater's Small Rich Christmas Fruitcake Recipe (2024)
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