This cake is a brilliant alternative to the traditional, heavy, fruit-based cakes that get served up at this time of the year. Most people I know have a love-hate relationship with fruit-based Christmas cakes. The results can vacillate wildly from richly satisfying to overwhelmingly stodgy and heavy. Obviously I’m going to claim my Mum’s beautifully dense, moist and liquor-laden cakes as the best I have tasted. She makes them months prior to Christmas, douses them in alcohol and allows their flavours to develop to epic proportions. I’ve never made this style of Christmas cake before and I think I’ll be leaving it in my Mum’s capable hands for the time being. I do love a good Christmas bake-off though…not that it’s a competition Mum (not really).

This recipe is one I’ve had lurking about for weeks now. It’s a bit on the decadent side so I had to wait for…