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Christmas cake recipe | Waitrose

Preparation time: 25 minutes, plus soaking
Cooking time: 2 hours
Total time: 185 minutes, plus soaking

Serves: 8

Ingredients

250g soft pitted dates, chopped
150g essential Waitrose sultanas
100g Cooks’ Ingredients mixed peel
1 orange, grated zest plus 1 tbsp juice
3 tbsp rum
180g unsalted butter, softened
180g golden caster sugar
3 eggs, lightly beaten
180g essential Waitrose self-raising flour
1 tsp Cooks’ Ingredients bicarbonate of soda
1 tbsp ground ginger

For the icing:

170g icing sugar
2 tbsp rum
½ tsp cream of tartar
1 egg white

Method

In a large bowl, soak the dried fruits, peel and orange zest in the rum and orange juice. Leave to one side for at least 30 minutes and for up to 12 hours.
Preheat the oven to 170C, gas mark 3. Grease a deep, round 20cm cake tin and line with baking parchment.
With an electric whisk, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs a little at a time, whisking as you go, then fold in the flour, bicarbonate of soda and ginger. Finally fold in the soaked fruits and any liquid in the bowl. Bake for 2 hours, until a skewer comes out clean. Keep an eye on the cake as it cooks and cover with foil if the top starts to brown too much. Leave to cool for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
For the icing, place all the ingredients in a bowl over a pan of simmering water. Stir occasionally until the sugar has dissolved. Place the pan and bowl on a heatproof surface and beat with an electric whisk until the mixture is silky and holds its shape. Spread over the cake. Tie a ribbon around the cake to serve.