My Mum has made this cake every Christmas since I can remember. It was her Mum’s recipe and she still uses the same decorations that she did.
I just love to look at it for a bit and be reminded of those magical memories of his time of year. As a kid I would be allowed to put some of the silver balls on the icing … I might have eaten a few dozen while doing so…
Unfortunately I don’t like fruit cake so I never have any (bad son!), but I intend to keep this tradition going so I hope to follow her making this next year as she prepares it about a month in advance before icing/decorating it around this time. Maybe I’ll set a reminder and hope I can post my attempt or at least co-attempt at the next one 😊
by VeneMage
22 comments
Looks yummy
God I’d forgotten those ball bearings, no way would my teeth cope with those these days
My mum did exactly the same even the decorations! Thought it was my mum’s for a moment.
Oh, this is nice! It is the kind of old fashioned cake I remember from my childhood, made by mums, before decorations became trendy, and a bit soulless. Would love a piece now!
Wow this brings back great Christmas memories of my gran making these kinds of cakes with all that icing and decorations.
These are the types of cake that even a small slice will weigh half a tonne😅
It looks absolutely delicious.
This is wholesome. Thanks for sharing. I’d love to see a cross-section.
Like you though, I’m not a fruit cake fan (at least, not cakes as fruity as Christmas cakes!), so all I would do is admire it at arm’s length.
My Mum hated to cook, but every year she would make a cake that looked just like this – even down to the ball bearings and decorations 🎄
Due to the oven packing up the other week I’ve not been able to make one this year. A shame but we usually end up throwing the last bits away in June so probably not a bad thing. Again it is an old family recipe.
It’s always a gamble on which relative is going to lose a tooth! I looks nice though!
My mum does the same, even has those holly leaf decorations. I do like fruit cake though and having a slice of her cake is the best part of my Christmas. I’m going to learn the recipe for next year so I can ensure the tradition lives on.
that’s gonna be amazing
This is really nice, thanks for sharing. It’s a beautiful cake. Imo this sums up everything good about Christmas!
I made one with my son this year for the first time. Stirred it up about a month ago and made a wish, fed it rum for a month and decorated it together with my mum’s old decorations (she’s still with us but always buys a cake now). My son decorated it liberally with sugar Santa faces!
It looks identical to the one my mother used to make. Fantastic.
This looks so much like the Christmas cakes my Nan and I would bake together when I was growing up. She passed away this year and I miss her so much, thank you for jogging some lovely memories!
Thanks for all the lovely comments ❤️
How warming to know so many other Mums and Grandmas (and I hope Dads and Grandads) out there also continue making these! I’m starting to wonder if it was a Fanny Craddock recipe in an episode that every person of that generation watched 😄
I’d be loading those into my air rifle and shooting her serving me a fruitcake 6 days before Xmas, hope they fit lol
It is literally crooning eat me, over and over.
Was there one single type of Christmas cake decorations sold in the 80’s? My mother has always made the exact same type of cake, and literally has the exact same plastic decorations, and I see several other people in this thread saying the same! So odd.
*everyone’s mums Christmas cake
The nostalgia hit like a punch in the throat, all that’s missing is the bottle-cleaner trees <3
Give it a week and that icing will be like biting into a hedgehog.
My mum used to make one of these every year. None of us actually liked it except my dad, and that was probably only because he was pissed (alcoholic).
Not sure if we just didn’t like it, or whether it was my mum’s baking, because although I admire her attempts, she’s never been the greatest cook of British foods.