Scottish Christmas Cake is a traditional Scottish recipe for a traditional rich fruit cake made with spices, brown colouring and ground almonds that is traditionally served for Christmas with a marzipan (almond paste) and royal icing topping. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Scottish version of: Scottish Christmas Cake.
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Here is a recipe that I found in the Good Fare Christmas pamphlet published in Edinburgh in 1958 that contains a number of Scottish Christmas and Hogmanay recipes.
To prepare the cake tin, take a 30cm diameter tall cake tin and line smoothly with a double layer of lightly-greased baking paper. Tie an 8cm high band of brown paper around the outside of the tin (this helps prevent the outside of the cake from burning).
Sift the flour into a bowl and beat the eggs in another bowl. Cream together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs, a little at a time, adding a spoonful of flour with each addition, beating thoroughly to combine with each addition. Now add the remaining flour and stir to combine.
Mix the baking powder and spices with the final spoonful of flour then stir into the batter. Chop the cherries and the peel. Mix with the remaining fruit and the ground almonds then stir into the cake batter. Add the browning and the spirits and stir to combine. If the batter is too stiff add just enough milk or stout to loosen (you are looking for a fairly stiff batter).
Turn the resultant batter into the prepared tin, then form a hollow in the centre to allow the cake to rise evenly. Transfer to an oven pre-heated to 180°C then immediately reduce the oven temperature to 150°C and bake for about 180 to 200 minutes, or until the cake is dry in the centre and a skewer inserted into the cake emerges cleanly.
Allow to cool for 15 minutes in the tin, then carefully turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Once completely cold wrap in greaseproof (waxed) paper, and then in a layer of kitchen foil. Store in in an air-tight tin and allow to mature for at least 2 weeks before serving.
