Please note that not all products are available at all stores and some products are seasonal. Signup for our newsletterJoin us for the latest news, offers & ideas from Poundland. You have successfully signed up and will hear from us shortly.Subscribe to Zing Zing Tree by EmailSkip to page content Skip to site search Mary Berry's Christmas cake Prep time: 30 mins Cooking time: 4 hrs Total time: 4 hrs 30 mins Skill level: Bit of effort You can make Mary Berry's Christmas cake well ahead of the big day - in fact, the longer you leave it, the better it will taste! This delicious Christmas cake will be the talk of your Christmas Day meal or party. Made with fruits including currants, raisins and cherries and soaked with rich sherry, the sponge is fruity and moist. Mary Berry's Christmas cake is topped with an easy royal icing and decorated with a festive ribbon. This cake is simple to recreate at home and has to be one of our favourite bakes. This recipe was taken from Mary Berry's Christmas Collection book.

Serve this cake with a dollop of brandy butter for a real Christmassy experience. The whole family are going to love tucking into this cake. It makes a foolproof Christmas cake every time. 175g (6 oz) raisins350g (12 oz) glace cherries, rinsed, thoroughly dried and quartered500g (1lb 2oz) currants350g (12oz) sultanas150ml (� pint) sherry, plus extra for feedingFinely grated zest of 2 oranges250g (9oz) butter, softened250g (9oz) light muscovado sugar4 eggs1 tbsp black treacle75g (3oz) blanched almonds, chopped75g (3oz) self-raising flour175g (6oz) plain flour1� tsp mixed spiceTo finish and decorate Mary Berry's Christmas cakepopular exterior paint colors 2013:About 3tbsp apricot jam, sieved and warmedIcing sugar675g shop-bought almond pastePacket royal icing mix to cover 23cm/9in cakeinterior design online stores australia

You should make this cake at least three weeks ahead of Christmas, for if eaten too early it's crumbly. If you don't want to use alcohol, use the same quantity of orange juice. Instead of covering with icing, you could brush warmed apricot jam over the cake, then arrange glace fruits and nuts on top. Put all the dried fruit in a container, pour over the sherry and stir in the orange zest. Cover with a lid, and leave to soak for 3 days, stirring daily. Grease and line a 23cm (9in) deep round tin with a double layer of greased greaseproof paper. shop home decor wholesalePreheat the oven to 140C, 120C fan, gas 1.Measure the butter, sugar, eggs, treacle and almonds into a very large bowl and beat well. farmhouse home decor blogAdd the flours and mixed spice and mix thoroughly until blended. christmas decorations to make from old books

Stir in the soaked fruit. Spoon into the prepared cake tin and level the surface.Bake in the centre of the preheated oven for 4-4� hours or until the cake feels firm to the touch and is a rich golden brown. Check after 2 hours, and, if the cake is a perfect colour, cover with foil. A skewer inserted into the centre of the cake should come out clean. Leave the cake to cool in the tin.When cool, pierce the cake at intervals with a fine skewer and feed with a little extra sherry. easy diy christmas decorations for your roomWrap the completely cold cake in a double layer of greaseproof paper and again in foil and store in a cool place for up to 3 months, feeding at intervals with more sherry. (Don't remove the lining paper when storing as this helps to keep the cake moist.)Decorate with almond paste and royal icing.To prepare the Christmas cake ahead: Prepare the fruit and soak in sherry 3 days ahead - this is essential to plump up and flavour the fruit.

Make the cake and wrap as in stage 4. Store in a cool place for up to 3 months, following stage 4. You could also freeze the cake before decorating, for up to 3 months; defrost at room temperature. Recipe taken from Mary Berry's Christmas Collection, available from Amazon, RRP �16.99 (Headline RRP �20.00) By submitting your details, you'll also receive emails from Time Inc. UK, publisher of goodtoknow and other iconic brands about its goods and services, and those of its carefully selected third parties. Please tick here if you'd prefer not to hear about:Top 50 Elf on the Shelf ideas -so many fun ideas to do with your Elf leading up to Christmas! Thanks for stopping by! To get the newest posts subscribe or join us on facebook and pinterest. Also check out all of our Christmas ideas HERE.Can you believe Christmas is already a month away?! Today I’m sharing the top 50 Elf on the Shelf ideas. I’ve got you covered! We started this tradition last year and my kids absolutely LOVED it!

We had a lot of fun last year and will be carrying on the tradition again this year with some of these fun ideas below. I just love seeing my kids eyes light up in the morning when they find their elf. And let’s get real here… our Elf isn’t always creative. Sometimes we’ll actually find him sitting on a shelf (winks) or hanging from the chandelier. Most of these ideas take only a few minutes to do. It doesn’t have to be hard. Me and my husband actually have a good time hiding the elf each night. It’s almost more fun for us. If you’ve never done Elf on the Shelf, you can get your own Elf on the Shelf kit on Amazon (affiliate link). Click on the links below each image to be taken to the original post. Have the elf show up on the first day with a North Pole breakfast & note from Santa Welcome Elf hot cocoa party Elf on the Shelf parachute: Great way to have your Elf arrive for the season! Make a mini count down paper chain Cute Elf on the Shelf poem and free printable

Elf makes himself a bed with the tissue box Frozen Elf from Staci Mcneil Elf taking a marshmallow bath Elf tp’s the Christmas tree Elf drinking his favorite drink -syrup! Elf roasting marshmallows by the fireplace, potty time, made snowman donuts and a tire swing time! Elf on the shelf playing a game with La Loopsy Operation Elf on the Shelf Elf “kissing” booth with free printable Elf and stuffed animals sack race Elf on the shelf hides the candy canes Elf going sledding on a tupperware lid Elf trying to help put up the lights Elf makes breakfast (mini pancakes) Snow ball fight with rupenzel Elf hanging out in the fridge Elf snow angel with a little flour and sugar Elf gets in trouble and draws on the picture frame Elf made a swing from a toilet paper roll Elf making some fruit loop garland for the tree Elf gets into the cookies Elf checking out the toy catalog Elf watching a movie with some popcorn