Boil and Bake Christmas Cake

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 150°C (130°C fan) mark Grease, then line the base and sides of a 20.5cm (8in) deep round cake tin with baking parchment.

Step 2

Put all the dried fruit and stem ginger into a very large pan with the lemon zest and almond liqueur. Heat the pan until the liqueur at the bottom begins to boil, then cook on a medium heat for 5min, stirring frequently until the fruit absorbs the liquid. Add butter and sugar and heat gently to melt, stirring occasionally to help dissolve the sugar.

Step 3

Take the pan off the heat and leave to cool for 5min. Stir in the almonds, flour, spices and beaten eggs and mix well. Immediately pour the mixture into the prepared tin and level the surface (there's no need to make a dip in the mixture).

Step 4

Bake the cake for 1hr 45min-2hr or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cover the cake with foil if it is browning too quickly.