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Friday 13 November 2015

Mary Berry's Christmas Genoa Cake

As I write this whilst watching BBC Children in Need, it is only 41 days until Christmas!

This is the first of a few festive recipes that will be available on my blog on the run up to the big day. I thought I would start the festive baking with a very special cake that actually, I have been baking all year round. I first made this cake last year and since then I have lost count how many times I have made it. Infact, I will be making another batch very soon as various family friends have requested one for Christmas.

This time last year  I made Christmas cakes for the very first time, they were all individual Christmas cakes that I gave away to family and friends. When long term family friends Christine and Barry received theirs (and gobbled them up before Christmas) Barry said that he was very much looking forward to a full sized cake for Christmas day - and I could not disappoint! Barry loved it and  would not stop talking about it, for reasons I'm not going into here it was great that he enjoyed it and ate every slice. So, since then, every other month or so I have made him another one. His poor wife Christine and the other Grannies (the affectionate pet name we have for my Mum, her friend Christine and her friend Janice) are absolutely sick of hearing Barry go on about how amazing the cake is. I however, love that one cake has brought a lot of enjoyment!


I cannot take credit for the recipe, this is a Mary Berry special. This cake is absolutely packed with fruit however unlike traditional Christmas cakes, it is a light sponge and there is no icing or marzipan in sight, the fruit and nuts is decoration enough. This version doesn't have alcohol in it and I haven't dared tinker with the recipe as I wouldn't want Barry to be disappointed, but you could, if you wanted soak the sultanas in brandy, sherry or another chosen tipple.

So, without further ado, put some festive music on and lets get baking!


To make a 9inch Mary Berry's Genoa Cake you will need:

  • 350g Glace Cherries
  • 225g tinned pineapple in natural juice
  • 50g Dried appricots
  • 100g Blanched almonds
  • Zest of 2 lemons
  • 350g Sultanas
  • 250g Unsalted butter
  • 250g Caster sugar
  • 5 Large eggs
  • 250g Self raising flour
  • 75g Ground almonds
To decorate:
  • Blanched almonds
  • Walnut halves
  • Glace cherries
  • 100g Apricot jam
Time to get baking!
  • Start by greasing and double lining your cake tin and preheat your oven to 170c fan.
  • This first stage is quite time consuming as you need to prepare the fruit. 
  • Starting with the cherries they all need chopping - I do some into halves and some into quarters to vary the size of chunks in the finished cake. They then need washing, to get rid of all of the syrup, and drying. The easiest way to do this is to tip them onto kitchen roll and place more on top, and gently patting them dry.  
  • Drain the tinned pineapple, you also need to get as much of the moisture out of this as possible, again using kitchen roll. Then chop the pineapple roughly into chunks (or not if you brought it ready chunked!)
  • Roughly chop the blanched almonds.
  • Put the cherries, pineapple, almonds and sultanas in a bowl with the lemon zest. Gently mix to ensure the different fruits and nuts are fairly evenly dispersed.
  • Meanwhile, its now time to make the sponge mixture. Cream together the butter and the sugar before gradually adding the eggs. Sift the flour and ground almonds in to the butter, sugar and eggs before gently folding until it is fully combined. 
  • You now need to gently fold in the fruit mixture. Be gentle as you don't want to knock out all the air you have put into the sponge mixture already.
  • Transfer the mixture your prepared cake tin.
  • Before putting it in the oven to bake, its time to add some finishing touches. Arrange cherries, walnut halves and blanched almonds on the top of the uncooked cake. As the cake bakes these will rise and bejewel the finished cake.
  • This cake takes quite a while to bake! Mary says 2 1/4 hours although mind have generally baked quicker than this. I recommend setting the time for around 1 hour and checking the colour of the cake, at this time, or sooner you may need to make a tin foil hat for the cake to stop it from becoming too dark in colour. Periodically, use cake tester or skewer to see if the sponge is ready. If it comes out clean, its ready!
  • Allow the cake to cool completely.
  • Meanwhile, gently heat the apricot jam then sieve it before brushing it all over the cooked and cooled genoa cake to glaze it. 






And that's all there is too it, decorate with some festive ribbon or a sprig of holly, a perfect alternative Christmas cake that can, and should be eaten all year round!

Keep your eyes peeled or subscribe to my blog to make sure you don't miss the next instalment of  Christmas bakes.

Happy baking, let me know how you get on.

Rach x

4 comments:

  1. I've made this cake for a few years now and substitute dried pineapple and papaya for some of the sultanas - roughly 50:50. I also soak the fruit in a few tablespoons of brandy for 24 hours beforehand. I use chopped pecans instead of the blanched almonds and Walnuts as I only like nuts that begin with the letter "p"!!! (although I do use the ground almonds in the mix). Finally, to make it more Christmassy, I ice with a thinnish icing sugar and lemon-juice icing on top of the glaze. It's a great cake!!!

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  2. Hello Rachel, I still haven't got round to making the custard creams yet but I have made the Genoa Cake although I followed the recipe for Mary Berry's Light American cake. The only difference seems to be is the amount of dried apricots is 250g instead of 50g as for this recipe. I think it will be our Christmas cake from now on, it's very light even though it's packed with fruit. We loved it. Look forward to your next post.

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  3. Anyone know how long this will keep for? I’m planning to make it for Christmas. Thanks

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  4. This soundsscummy as mary would say! Is it ok to store in a tin or does the canned pineapple mean it needs to be refrigerated to stop it going mouldy?

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