Last-Minute Mincemeat Cake

close up mincemeat cake topped with golden almonds, walnuts and cherries.

4.67 from 3 votes

A simple mincemeat cake to enjoy at Christmas. An easy recipe made with just a few ingredients and ready in no time, a last-minute alternative to a more laborious Christmas fruitcake.

Prep Time20

Cook Time1 15

Course: Cakes

Cuisine: English

Servings:

Calories: 543kcal

Author: Adina

Equipment

1 round cake tin 20 cm/ 8 inches, Note 1

Ingredients

Mincemeat cake (Note 2):

300 g mincemeat from a jar or homemade, 10.5 oz
1 small apple
175 g unsalted butter soft, 6 oz/ ⅔ cup
100 g dark brown muscovado sugar 3.5 oz/ ½ cup, Note 3
3 eggs medium
250 g self-raising flour 9 oz/ 2 cups, Note 4
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
35 g prunes 1.2 oz/ ¼ cup chopped, Note 5
35 g raisins 1.2 oz/ ¼ cup

Topping (Note 5):

75 g golden syrup 2.6 oz/ ½ cup
40 g unsalted butter 1.4 oz/ scant 3 tablespoons
45 g glace cherries 1.5 oz/ about ¼ cup
65 g almonds whole and blanched, 2.3 oz/ ½ cup
50 g walnuts 1.7 oz/ ½ cup
40 g all-purpose flour 1.4 oz/ ⅓ cup
a pinch of salt

Instructions

Mincemeat cake:

Preparations: Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Grease and line the cake tin with parchment paper.
Mincemeat: Spoon it into a bowl. Peel and core the apple and chop it finely. Stir it into the mincemeat.
Dough: Place the soft butter, muscovado sugar, eggs, flour, and salt into a large bowl. Mix shortly at low speed to combine. Increase the speed and beat the mixture for about 2 minutes until light and creamy. Stir in the mincemeat-apple mix using a spoon or a spatula.
Transfer the mixture to the prepared tin and smooth the surface. Tap the container gently on the working surface to release any air pockets.
Bake for 1 hour and 5 minutes until almost done. Don’t forget to check after ½ - ¾ hour; if the top of the cake gets too dark, please cover it loosely with a piece of aluminum foil.
Make the topping during the last 5-10 minutes of the baking time.

Topping:

Combine: Heat the golden syrup and the butter in a small saucepan. Once the butter is melted, add cherries, almonds, walnuts, flour, and sea salt. Stir well to coat the ingredients with the syrup.
Bake: Spread the mixture on top of the mincemeat cake and bake for another 13-14 minutes until the topping is shiny and golden.
Cool cake: Place the tin on a wire rack and let the cake cool completely on the wire rack.

Notes

1. Alternative cake tins:

Square tin - 18x18 cm/ 7x7 inches
Loaf tin – 15x20 cm/ 6x8 inches

2. Always use a digital kitchen scale in baking; it guarantees the best results (Amazon affiliate link).

3. Muscovado sugar substitute:

You can replace it 1:1 with unrefined, molasses-containing sugar like jaggery, panela, or Sucanat.
The next best thing is dark brown sugar. Use almost the same amount, replacing one tablespoon of sugar with 1 tablespoon of molasses if available.

4. Self-raising flour substitute:

Mix 250 g of all-purpose flour with 3 ⅓ teaspoons of baking powder for this recipe.
Keep in mind that UK self-raising flour doesn’t contain salt, while American self-raising flour (often used for biscuits) does contain salt. If baking this recipe in the US, leave out the salt needed in the recipe or mix your own self-raising flour without salt.

5. Dried fruit: You can bake the cake without dried fruit or use any other dried fruit (and peel) you like.

6. Decoration: If you would like to cover the cake with fondant or royal icing, leave out the topping. Bake the cake for 1 ¼ hour or until done (toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake should come out clean). When cold, decorate it as desired.

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