It's time to make the Christmas cake

One of the best traditions of Christmas Day is the Christmas cake. Even though we’ve usually eaten far too much for our Christmas lunch, somehow we can still find enough room for a slice of cake at teatime! And as it’s also traditional to make the cake three months in advance, September is the month to make it. So why not treat yourself to a new stand mixer (also called a food processor) to help make the process a lot easier?

Using a stand mixer

If you prefer cooking using an old-fashioned mixing bowl, wooden spoon and a lot of elbow grease, that’s great, but it’s hard work, especially when you’re making something as dense as a Christmas cake. That’s why most of us prefer to use a food processor, because it makes light work of everything. 

If you’re feeling the pinch a bit - and let’s face it, we all are at the moment - our 2-in-1 Food Processors are currently on special offer for less than half price. Available in red or black, they come with a powerful engine, and a 4.5L mixing bowl which will be big enough to mix your Christmas cake in. They are brilliant mixers and our customers love them. 

Christmas cake recipes 

The best Christmas cake recipes are the ones handed down through the generations. Nothing beats the taste of childhood memories! But if you’re new to baking and don’t have a book of old family recipes, don’t worry. There are hundreds of Christmas cake recipes freely available on the internet. The basis of a Christmas cake is a fruit cake, but because it’s being made for a special occasion, it tends to have more ingredients and be richer in flavour. What those flavours are will depend on whose recipe you’re using. As different cooks have different styles, it’s probably best to start looking at your favourite cook’s recipe first. If you like the look of it, then it's time to get your apron on. If you’re not too sure, then keep searching. 

To start you off, we’ve searched for traditional Christmas cake recipes from some of the UK’s favourite cooks. 

• A recipe from Delia Smith, the grande dame of 'How to Cook' advice, is a great place to start if you're not very experienced in the kitchen. In Delia’s Classic Christmas Cake recipe, she has adapted the traditional recipe that was handed down to her from her mother and her grandmother and made it her own. She even gives advice on how to ‘feed’ your cake so it’s nice and boozy by the big day. 
• Nigella Lawson is the queen of indulgence, and her Christmas Cake recipe is as indulgent as it gets! She uses less dried fruit and more alcohol than Delia, and she uses pecan nuts (or walnuts) instead of almonds. 
• You’ll need to think ahead if you’re going to try Bake Off original Mary Berry’s Christmas Cake - she recommends soaking the dried fruit in brandy or sherry for a whole three days before you even need to get your food mixer out of the cupboard! 

If you treat yourself to a food processor with all the attachments, you'll soon realise how much you love baking, and who knows where that could lead. But there's one thing for certain, there's probably a Sensio Home kitchen appliance that will help.