HOW TO BAKE CHRISTMAS CAKE RECIPES

Steps:

• Put 1kg mixed dried fruit, the zest and juice of 1 orange and 1 lemon, 150ml brandy or other alcohol, 250g softened butter and 200g light, soft brown sugar in a large pan set over a medium heat.
• Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 5 mins. Tip the fruit mixture into a large bowl and leave to cool for 30 mins.
• Heat oven to 150C/130C fan/gas 2. Line a deep 20cm cake tin with a double layer of baking parchment, then wrap a double layer of newspaper around the outside – tie with string to secure.
• Add 175g plain flour, 100g ground almonds, ½ tsp baking powder, 2 tsp mixed spice, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, ¼ tsp ground cloves, 100g flaked almonds, 4 large eggs and 1 tsp vanilla extract to the fruit mixture and stir well, making sure there are no pockets of flour.
• Tip into your prepared tin, level the top with a spatula and bake in the centre of the oven for 2 hrs.
• Remove the cake from the oven, poke holes in it with a skewer and spoon over 2 tbsp of your chosen alcohol. Leave the cake to cool completely in the tin.
• To store, peel off the baking parchment, then wrap well in cling film. Feed the cake with 1-2 tbsp alcohol every fortnight, until you ice it.
• Don’t feed the cake for the final week to give the surface a chance to dry before icing.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, mix the milk, pudding mix, and whipped topping together until fully combined. Set aside
• In the bottom of a 13x9 inch baking pan, arrange a single layer of graham cracker squares (you can break the squares into smaller pieces to get into the corners of the pan)
• Spread half of the pudding mixture over top of the graham crackers
• Top with another layer of graham crackers
• Spread the remainder of the pudding mixture overtop
• Top with one final layer of graham crackers
• Spread the prepared frosting overtop of the entire cake, and use an offset spatula to spread it right into the corners (chill the cake for 30-minutes prior to help making spreading easier)
• Cover the pan with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours before serving