Irish Christmas Cake Recipe: A Classic Whiskey Fruit Cake (with a Countdown)

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The Irish Christmas cake is the one that sits in a tin on top of the press (the kitchen cupboard) for weeks, getting the odd drop of whiskey. By Christmas it’s dark, moist and wearing a thick coat of white icing.

Below is one reliable classic recipe, with metric, US cups and every oven setting. There’s also a 2026 countdown, and a last-minute version for anyone reading this on 20 December.

The quantities follow Delia Smith’s classic cake, and the long, low bake matches Delia and Mary Berry. I’ve checked it against Irish recipes from Odlums, Darina Allen, Neven Maguire and Kevin Dundon.

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What is a traditional Irish Christmas cake?

It’s a rich fruit cake, heavy with raisins, sultanas and currants, with a little peel and some glacé cherries. It’s made weeks before Christmas and “fed” with spirits while it waits. Close to the day it gets a layer of marzipan (almond paste) and then royal icing.

It’s a little different from the American fruitcake, which leans on candied fruit. The Irish and British cake is mostly vine fruit: dense, dark and buttery, with a sweet white shell.

The main Irish twist is the bottle. British classics from Delia Smith and Mary Berry use brandy. Irish recipes from Darina Allen, Kevin Dundon on RTÉ and Odlums’ Simple Christmas Cake use Irish whiskey.

That makes it a Christmas cake with whiskey rather than brandy. Either works, so use what’s in the house.

When to make your Christmas cake: a 2026 countdown

Bake the cake at least a month ahead if you want to feed it, as Nigel Slater’s recipe in the Irish Times advises. Mary Berry says her classic cake can be made up to three months ahead.

Don’t panic if you’re late, though. Darina Allen says her cake can even be made a few days before Christmas. Neven Maguire suggests maturing a fed cake for at least two weeks and up to three months before icing.

Here’s a working timeline back from Friday 25 December 2026:

When	What to do
Now to mid November	Bake the cake, then feed it every week or two.
Sunday 22 November	Stir-up Sunday, the last Sunday before Advent. Traditionally pudding day, and a good last call for the cake.
About Sunday 6 December	Give the last feed, roughly a week before the marzipan goes on.
Saturday 12 to Monday 14 December	Cover the cake in marzipan and leave it to dry.
Saturday 19 to Monday 21 December	Royal-ice the cake. Allow at least 24 hours for the icing to set.
Wednesday 6 January 2027	Nollaig na mBan, traditionally the day for tea and the last of the cake.

Irish Christmas cake recipe

This is a classic rich cake for a deep 20cm (8 inch) round tin. The batter uses 225g each of butter, sugar and flour with four large eggs, the same as Delia Smith’s classic cake. It holds 900g of whiskey-soaked fruit.

Prep: 30 minutes | Soak: overnight | Bake: 4½ to 4¾ hours | Cool: overnight in the tin | Makes: 1 deep 20cm (8 inch) cake, about 20 slices

Tin: 20cm (8 inch) round cake tin, at least 7.5cm (3 inches) deep. Oven: 140°C, 120°C fan, 285°F, gas mark 1.

Ingredients

For the fruit soak

• 300g (10½ oz, 2 US cups) raisins
• 300g (10½ oz, 2 US cups) sultanas (golden raisins)
• 150g (5¼ oz, about 1 US cup) currants
• 100g (3½ oz, about ½ US cup) glacé cherries, rinsed, dried and halved
• 50g (1¾ oz, ⅓ US cup) chopped mixed peel
• 100ml (3⅓ fl oz, a scant ½ US cup) Irish whiskey

For the cake

• 225g (8 oz, 1 US cup or 2 sticks) butter, softened
• 225g (8 oz, 1 US cup plus 1 tbsp, packed) dark brown soft sugar or dark muscovado
• 4 large eggs (Irish or UK large), beaten. In the US, use 4 extra-large eggs
• 225g (8 oz, 1¾ US cups plus 2 tbsp, spooned and levelled) plain (all-purpose) flour
• 50g (1¾ oz, ½ US cup) ground almonds (almond flour)
• 50g (1¾ oz, about ⅓ US cup) almonds, roughly chopped
• 1 tsp mixed spice, or pumpkin pie spice in the US
• ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
• A pinch of salt, unless your butter is salted
• 1 tbsp black treacle (molasses in the US)
• Finely grated zest of 1 lemon and 1 orange

For feeding

• About 120ml (4 fl oz, ½ US cup) more Irish whiskey, used a tablespoon or two at a time over the weeks

To decorate

• 3 tbsp apricot jam, warmed and sieved
• 675g (1½ lb) marzipan (almond paste), shop-bought is fine
• Icing sugar (powdered sugar), for dusting
• 3 large egg whites, or about 100ml (3⅓ fl oz) pasteurised liquid egg white
• 675g (1½ lb, about 6 US cups) icing sugar (powdered sugar), sifted
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp glycerine (optional, it stops the icing setting rock hard)

Method

1. The night before, put all the fruit and peel in a large bowl. Pour over the 100ml of whiskey and stir. Cover and leave for 12 to 24 hours, stirring once or twice if you remember.
2. Line the tin. Grease it, then line the base and sides with a double layer of baking paper (parchment). Let the side paper stand about 5cm (2 inches) above the rim.
3. Wrap a double band of brown paper or newspaper round the outside of the tin, as high as the lining. Tie it on with kitchen string. This slows the heat at the edges, so the outside doesn’t dry out before the middle is cooked.
4. Heat the oven to 140°C (120°C fan, 285°F, gas mark 1). Put a shelf just below the middle.
5. Beat the butter and sugar together until lighter in colour and fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes with an electric mixer.
6. Add the beaten eggs a little at a time, beating well after each addition. If the mixture starts to curdle, beat in a spoonful of the flour.
7. Sift the flour, spice, nutmeg and salt over the bowl. Add the ground almonds and fold everything in gently with a large metal spoon.
8. Fold in the soaked fruit with any whiskey left in the bowl. Then fold in the chopped almonds, treacle and both zests.
9. Spoon the mixture into the tin and level it. Make a slight hollow in the centre with the back of the spoon, which helps the top bake flatter.
10. Bake for about 4½ to 4¾ hours. Check after 4 hours. If the top is browning too fast, lay a double square of baking paper loosely over it.
11. The cake is done when the top feels firm and a skewer pushed into the centre comes out clean. Damp crumbs of fruit on the skewer are fine. Wet batter is not, so give it another 15 minutes and test again.
12. Leave the cake to cool completely in the tin, ideally overnight. If you like, prick the top with a skewer while it’s still warm and spoon over 1 to 2 tablespoons of whiskey.
13. When it’s cold, take it out of the tin but leave the lining paper on. Wrap it in fresh baking paper, then in foil. Store it in an airtight tin in a cool, dry place and feed it as below.
14. Every week or two, prick the top with a thin skewer and spoon over 1 to 2 tablespoons (15 to 30ml) of whiskey, then wrap it again. Stop about a week before the marzipan goes on.
15. One to two weeks before Christmas, brush the cake with the warm apricot jam. Roll the marzipan on an icing-sugared worktop into a circle about 38cm (15 inches) across. Lay it over the cake, smooth it and trim. Leave it to dry somewhere cool for at least 24 to 48 hours.
16. A few days before Christmas, whisk the egg whites until frothy, then beat in the icing sugar a spoonful at a time until stiff and very white. Beat in the lemon juice and glycerine. Spread it over the cake, rough it into peaks with the back of a spoon and leave it to set for at least 24 hours. Use pasteurised egg white if you’re serving babies, toddlers, pregnant women, older people or anyone unwell.

Tips

Fan ovens. Darina Allen’s rule is to take 20°C off the conventional temperature. That’s why this recipe says 140°C, or 120°C fan.

Fahrenheit. 140°C works out at 284°F, so 285°F is the closest US oven setting. Many older tables say 275°F, which also works. It just takes a little longer, so trust the skewer.

Egg sizes. An Irish or EU large egg weighs 63g to 73g. A US large egg is smaller, at around 57g (2 oz). Four US extra-large eggs are the closer match.

Burnt top or dry edges. These come from too much heat for too long at the outside. The double lining, the paper band round the tin and the low oven all fix it. So does the paper laid over the top.

Fruit sinking. Rinse the syrup off the glacé cherries, dry them well and halve them. A stiff batter, which this is, holds the fruit better than a loose one.

No baking powder? That’s right. A rich fruit cake is meant to be dense and close-textured. The beaten eggs and creamed butter give it all the lift it needs.

Smaller tins. Odlums splits its boiled-fruit Christmas cake between two 15cm (6 inch) round tins or two 900g (2lb) loaf tins. That’s a lighter cake, though. Split this mixture the same way and allow about 2½ hours at the same temperature, checking from 2 hours.

The paper band. Brown paper and newspaper are standard, but keep them well clear of gas flames and oven elements. Use cotton string, not plastic ties.

If you like this sort of soaked-fruit baking, the barmbrack recipe is its quicker Halloween cousin.

How to feed a Christmas cake

Feeding means adding a little spirit every week or two while the cake matures. It keeps it moist and deepens the flavour.

Unwrap the cake and push a thin skewer into the top in 10 to 15 places, about halfway down. Spoon 1 to 2 tablespoons (15 to 30ml) of whiskey slowly over the holes, then wrap it up again.

Kevin Dundon, on RTÉ, feeds his cake weekly. On his own site, he suggests no more than four feeds, warning that overfeeding leaves a cake stodgy and wet.

Nigel Slater, in the Irish Times, says to moisten the cake but not make it soggy. Stop feeding about a week before the marzipan goes on, so the top can dry.

Feeding without alcohol

Silver Spoon, the British sugar brand, says fruit juice can stand in for the whiskey. A juice-fed cake probably won’t keep as long, so store it cool and eat it sooner.

Bear in mind that the whiskey you feed in after baking is never cooked. Even baked-in alcohol isn’t all gone. USDA retention data suggests about 5% remains after 2½ hours of baking. That matters for children, pregnancy and anyone avoiding alcohol.

How to store a Christmas cake

Wrap the cake in baking or greaseproof paper first, then foil. The paper stops the acidic fruit touching the foil. Keep it in an airtight tin in a cool, dry cupboard.

In a hot, humid December, Australia for one, wrap it very well and keep it in the fridge, or freeze it. Nigella Lawson’s website suggests the same. If you ever see mould, throw the cake out rather than cutting it off.

Once it’s iced, keep it covered at cool room temperature. The fridge can make royal icing tacky. Nigella Lawson’s website says royal icing is at its best within about a month.

How to marzipan and ice a Christmas cake

This is done in two stages, several days apart. The quantities are in the recipe under “To decorate”.

Step 1: the marzipan

Set the cake on a board, upside down if the bottom is flatter. Fill any gaps at the base with small bits of marzipan. Brush the top and sides with the warm jam, which works as glue.

Dust the worktop with icing sugar and roll the marzipan into a circle about 38cm (15 inches) across. That covers the top and sides of a deep 20cm (8 inch) cake, with a little spare. Lift it over the cake on the rolling pin, smooth it down and trim the bottom.

Leave it to dry somewhere cool for at least 24 to 48 hours, loosely covered with clean paper. Mary Berry puts her marzipan on about a week before the icing. Ice it too soon and almond oil can seep through and stain the icing yellow.

Step 2: the royal icing

Whisk the egg whites in a clean bowl until frothy. Beat in the icing sugar a spoonful at a time until the icing is very white and stands in stiff peaks. Beat in the lemon juice and glycerine. Keep it covered with a damp cloth, as it crusts quickly.

Spread the icing over the top and sides with a palette knife. For an easy snow scene, dab it with the back of a spoon to pull up rough peaks. Leave it to dry for at least 24 hours.

If you want to pipe a message, Nollaig Shona Daoibh (or Nollaig Shona Duit, to one person) fits across the top of a 20cm (8 inch) cake.

A note on raw egg

Classic royal icing uses raw egg white. safefood, the all-island food safety body, says raw or lightly cooked egg can cause food poisoning in babies, toddlers, pregnant women and people who are unwell. The US FDA adds older adults and anyone with a weakened immune system. It says to use pasteurised eggs or egg products in raw-egg recipes.

The easy swaps are pasteurised liquid egg white, dried egg white or meringue powder (follow the packet), or royal icing sugar mixed with water. Ready-to-roll icing (fondant) needs no egg at all. Never use duck eggs in icing. Homemade marzipan often contains raw egg too, another reason to buy it.

Nut allergies

The cake and the marzipan both contain nuts. For a nut-free cake, leave out both kinds of almond. Use 50g (1¾ oz, ⅓ US cup plus 1 tbsp) more plain flour in place of the ground almonds. Add 50g (1¾ oz, about ⅓ US cup) more fruit in place of the chopped ones.

Then put the royal icing or fondant straight on over the apricot jam. Check the labels on the peel, cherries and icing for nut warnings too.

Last-minute Christmas cake

Left it late? It happens in the best of houses. Darina Allen says her rich cake can be made just a few days before Christmas.

If you can’t wait overnight for the soak, a common shortcut is to warm the fruit and whiskey gently in a saucepan for a few minutes. Let it cool completely before it goes into the batter. Then bake as above and skip the feeding.

For a quicker bake, split the mixture between two 15cm (6 inch) round tins and start checking after about 2 hours. Marzipan it a day or two after baking and ice it a couple of days later. A last-minute cake hasn’t matured, so eat it within a couple of weeks.

The Christmas cake in Irish homes

The iced Christmas cake has roots in the older Twelfth Night cake. That was a rich fruit cake, iced and decorated, for parties on 5 or 6 January. Food historian Pen Vogler, writing for the Dickens Museum, says the cake was later downsized and moved to Christmas Day.

In many Irish homes, the cake is part of the run-in to Christmas, alongside the pudding and the spiced beef. My page on Irish Christmas traditions, food and dinner covers the rest of the table.

It wasn’t always the iced cake everywhere, mind you. In the 1930s, pupils in Aghabullogue parish, in my own county of Cork, wrote about Christmas for the Schools’ Collection.

According to the Aghabullogue heritage blog, one recorded a treacle cake made at Christmas. Another, from Rylane, recorded special Christmas cakes called “sweet cake”. The Schools’ Collection is free to read on dúchas.ie.

The cake also tends to outlast Christmas itself. On 6 January, Nollaig na mBan (Women’s Christmas), women traditionally visited friends and neighbours. Marion McGarry, writing for RTÉ Brainstorm, notes they’d have tea and the last of the Christmas cake.

Irish Christmas cake FAQ

How far ahead should I make a Christmas cake?

Ideally four to eight weeks, so bake by early or mid November. Allow at least a month if you want to feed it. Mary Berry says up to three months is fine.

Can I use whiskey instead of brandy in a Christmas cake?

Yes, and most Irish recipes do. Darina Allen, Kevin Dundon and Odlums’ Simple Christmas Cake all use Irish whiskey. Swap it in for brandy in the same amounts.

How often should you feed a Christmas cake?

Every week or two, with 1 to 2 tablespoons of whiskey or brandy spooned into skewer holes. About four feeds is plenty, stopping a week before the marzipan.

How long should marzipan dry before royal icing?

At least 24 to 48 hours, and up to a week if you have it. Icing too soon can let almond oil seep through and stain the icing.

Can you freeze Christmas cake?

Yes. Undecorated rich fruit cake freezes well, wrapped in baking paper, foil and a freezer bag. Thaw it slowly, still wrapped, before you decorate it.

What is the difference between Christmas cake and Christmas pudding?

Both are full of dried fruit. The cake is baked, iced and eaten in slices with a cup of tea. The pudding is steamed, then served hot after the dinner with brandy butter or custard.

More Irish Christmas reading

• Irish Christmas Traditions, Food and Dinner
• Irish Spiced Beef Recipe
• Nollaig na mBan: The Irish Tradition of Women’s Christmas
• How to Say Merry Christmas in Irish
• 10 Irish Christmas Blessings
• Barmbrack Recipe
• Facts About Cork

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