Alternative to christmas cake?

[Grockle]

I always make christmas cakes & every year vow not to do them again. But I'd like to make something - perhaps less heavy and stodgy as traditional fruit cake but something delicious.

We have Yule log for Yule, so needs to be something else. Any suggestions?

Panettone ? But why make it? You can buy them big with chocolate, or fruit or lemon. And the children can enjoy putting the icing sugar on. And leftovers are brilliant in trifle or bread and butter pudding.

Or a plain iced sponge cake decorated with skaters. Could be lemon or Orange, and with charms in it.

Stollen.
I used a kit from Sainabury's last year. It was very easy and delicious! Wish I'd weighed each of the little packets of ingredients to replicate it. I've bern looking at recopies online and they all seem far more complicated.

I haven't made this but I like the look of this Scandinavian Spiced Christmas cake with apple filling

Also check out Dan Lepard's recipes - he is the master of slightly different but incredibly tasty baking yummyness. This one of Dan's is one of my all time favourite cake recipes - just incredible flavours (the black pepper is genius).

I'm not sure I'd bother to make Panettone - I love it & I think it might be one of those things that is better bought than made (like custard creams).

I often make Stollen - I'd forgotten about it. That would be perfect. Thank you

That apple cake sounds wonderful. And I love Dan Lepard but never think of using his recipes. Thank you/