A spiced cranberry madeira to welcome Christmas

I think it’s a crime to eat fruitcake before Christmas Day, but I do love those Christmassy scents and tastes of warm spice and orange. This spiced cranberry madeira is just the thing for those who aren’t fans of fruit cake. While it’s lovely on its own, it also pairs well with a spiced orange buttercream if you want to decorate it with fondant. Make it for Christmas Day, or make it now, just serve a big slice with a cup of Christmas tea. If fresh cranberries aren’t available then frozen or dried cranberries will work just as well.

Ingredients

  • 275g unsalted butter at room temperature
  • 275g golden caster sugar
  • 350g self-raising flour
  • ½ tsp ground cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp ground cloves
  • zest of 2 large oranges
  • 5 eggs
  • 3 tbsp crème fraiche
  • 150g fresh cranberries
  • 1 8inch deep loose bottomed cake tin greased and lined with baking parchment
  • spiced orange buttercream (optional)
  • 200g unsalted butter
  • zest and juice of two oranges
  • ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
  • 200g icing sugar

Preheat oven to 160 degrees for conventional or 150 degrees for fan. Sift the flour and the ground spices into a bowl. Beat the butter at a high speed until pale and fluffy. Add the flour and spices, sugar, eggs, orange zest and crème fraiche and beat until everything is just combined.

Gently fold in the cranberries and pour the batter into the prepared tin. Make a well in the centre of the batter and immediately transfer to the oven. 

Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 1½ hours. 

Leave in the tin for 10 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Wrap in baking parchment and store in an airtight tin.

If making the spiced orange buttercream, sift the icing sugar with the cinnamon into a bowl. Add the butter and the orange zest and beat at a high speed for five minutes until fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula then beat again at a low speed while gradually adding the orange juice.

Cut the cake into three layers and spread the buttercream over one layer. Place the next layer on top and spread this with more buttercream. Repeat until all the layers are stacked. Spread the remaining buttercream all around the top and sides of the cake. If you will be decorating the cake with fondant, chill it in the fridge for an hour before decorating.