Christmas is not far away. Time to make your delicious Christmas Cake to vow your guests. This recipe is tried and tested by Sarah Weate, our chair person, and will surely delight. All ingredients apart from the glace cherries and booze are available at your Co-Op.

What you need:

• 450g butter
• 450g Rapadura sugar
• 150g raw sugar
• 575g light flour
• 450g sultanas
• 900g currants
• 225g raisins
• 225g orange and lemon peel
• 225g glace cherries
• Grated rind and the juice from one lemon
• 3 tsp coffee liqueur
• Half teaspoon cinnamon
• Half teaspoon ground ginger
• Quarter cup rum or brandy
• 4 tbs sherry
• 8 eggs
• 50g almonds, ground
• 60g raw almonds

Candy the peel the day before: Cut the peel of oranges and lemons into strips (about half a cm wide), removing as much of the white pith as possible. Place in a pan with boiling water and boil for 20 minutes. Rinse, return to the pan, cover with water, add the raw sugar and boil for ten-15 minutes. Place on a rack to dry.

Soak all dry fruit in rum or brandy the day before.

Blanch the almonds: Put the raw almonds into boiling water for a few seconds, rinse in cold water and blot to remove skin.

Cream butter and sugar. Mix eggs, sherry and lemon together. Mix all liquid into creamed butter and sugar.

Sieve in the dry ingredients and add the soaked dried fruits and the almonds.

Put double baking paper in a 25 cm tin, add the mixture and bake for five hours at 150 C, testing after four and a half hours by poking the cake with a knife and it should slide out clean. For a 20 cm tin use half the ingredients and test after 3 hours.

Store the Christmas Cake tightly wrapped in baking paper and / or beeswax wrap. Don’t forget to soak weekly with brandy, sherry or an alcohol of your choice and enjoy it on Christmas Day with whipped cream or custard!

Enjoy!