Christmas cake virgin

[Mostlyjustaluker]

I want to make a proper Christmas cake this year and feed it.

When do I make it? Which recipe? What do I feed it? How much? How often? I am completely clueless.

Try Delia's Christmas cake

I love making Christmas cake. The smell of the fruit and alcohol is divine.I've always used Delia's recipe and baked it Oct/Nov and then topped it up regularly and iced it just before Christmas.

this is lovely as well and can me made last minute

Thanks. I think I will try the delis one as I have a week off work in October. When you say you keep it topped up regularly, how often is this? How much do you top it up with?

It tells you in her recipe but I tend to feed my cake with a tablespoon of brandy every two weeks. The recipe in her christmas cookbook tells you the best way to feed and store it hth.

I have a Delia Cookbook (ancient one) and I use her recipe but amend it a bit.
Caster sugar, sultanas only, no spice , only light nuts, and Amarretto to soak/feed (I want a light cake, not the dark rich type)

The timings on this cake are a bit long IME, I give it less.

Main thing to make the difference is prepare the tin. Double line with greaseproof paper, wrap the outside with brown paper, especially if you do a large cake. Put a sheet of greaseproof with a hole cut out (about 10p coin size) on the top,

I let mine cool for 24 hours, stab it top and bottom with a skewer, pour in about 15ml Amarretto then wrap in fresh greaseproof and foil.

It gets re-fed about every week, but I make mine quite late.