Christmas Rum Fruit Cake
This classic Christmas Rum Fruit Cake is rich, dense, and soaked with Jamaican rum. Packed with sweet currants, sultanas, cherries, and almonds, it’s the perfect no-fuss centerpiece for your holiday table — a comforting slice of tradition wrapped in festive flavor.
Equipment
- Cake tin
- Mixing Bowls
- Wooden spoon or spatula
- Electric Mixer (optional)
- Parchment Paper
Ingredients
Soaked Fruit
- sultanas soaked in rum
- currants soaked in rum
- glacé cherries chopped, soaked in rum
- Jamaican rum for soaking and feeding
Cake Batter
- butter softened
- dark muscovado sugar
- eggs
- plain flour sifted
- candied citrus peel optional
- flaked almonds for folding into batter
Decoration
- whole glacé cherries for topping
- whole blanched almonds for topping
Instructions
- Chop glacé cherries and combine with sultanas and currants in a bowl. Pour over Jamaican rum and let soak for at least 2 hours or overnight.
- Grease and line a cake tin with parchment. Preheat oven to 150°C (300°F).
- Cream the butter and dark muscovado sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Sift in the flour and fold gently. Repeat until all flour is incorporated.
- Fold in soaked fruit mixture and flaked almonds until evenly combined.
- Spoon batter into tin. Top with whole glacé cherries and blanched almonds.
- Bake for 45 minutes, then lower temperature slightly and bake until a skewer comes out clean (total ~2 hours).
- Cool completely in the tin before removing. Optionally, brush with more rum before storing.
Notes
This cake can be made weeks in advance and fed with rum for a deeper flavor. It freezes beautifully and makes a thoughtful edible gift.