Stir Up Sunday with Fitzbillies
Fitzbillies, for those who know Cambridge, is famous for delicious cakes as well as famous Chelsea buns. We've been baking for Christmas since 1920, so we know plenty about keeping traditions alive, and with Christmas just around the corner, we thought we'd share a reminder of the excellent tradition of Stir Up Sunday.
What is Stir Up Sunday?
Families across the UK have been cooking Christmas puddings and cakes on the last Sunday before Advent as a beloved way to start the season for generations.
A tradition dating back to the Victorian Era, Stir-Up Sunday gets its name from The Book of Common Prayer in the Anglican Church; the day’s reading begins “Stir up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people”. Today, “stir-up” refers to the mixing of Christmas puddings and cakes.
Stir Up Sunday 2024: 24 November
Warm up the oven, rustle up some dried fruit, and get your pinny on for Sunday 24 November 2024, which is this year's Stir Up Sunday! Whether you go traditional and make puddings and Christmas cake, or try more modern treats like festive gingerbread, there's plenty to enjoy about this lovely tradition!
Read on for the Fitzbillies Christmas Cake recipe from the Fitzbillies book.
Bring good luck with Stir Up Sunday
Want to add a little extra fun to Stir Up Sunday and Christmas Day itself? Try the Victorian custom to bring good luck by hiding a silver coin in the cake mix. The person who finds the coin is destined for good fortune!
Fitzbillies Christmas Cake Recipe
This cake should be made at least a month before Christmas so that there is plenty of time for the rum to absorb. Stir Up Sunday is the ideal time to make the cake, so that it can mature, and the flavours can strengthen.
Ingredients
- 120g chopped glace cherries
- 350g currants
- 450g sultanas
- Zest and juice of 1 lemon
- Zest and juice of one orange
- 100ml rum, plus extra to feed the cake and for icing
- 250g light brown soft sugar
- 250g salted butter, softened plus extra for greasing
- 1 tbsp black treacle
- 250g plain flour
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp mixed spice]1/4 tsp salt
- 3 medium eggs
For the Icing
- 500g ready-made marzipan
- Icing sugar, for dusting
- 150g apricot jam, strained and boiled
- 500g ready-to-roll white fondant icing
- 500g royal sugar, for piping and decorating
Instructions
Mix the cherries, dried fruit, lemon and orange zest and juice and the rum in a bowl. Cover and leave to soak overnight.
The next day, preheat the oven to 180 degrees C (160 degrees fan). Grease and line a 20cm cake tin. Fold a piece of brown paper or newspaper so that it is four layers think and long enough to wrap the tin. Tie the tin with string. This will stop the outside of the cake overbaking and burning.
Cream the brown sugar, butter and treacle in the stand mixer until pale and fluffy, then mix the flour, cinnamon, mixed spice and salt together in another bowl. Add the eggs to the creamed mixture, one at a time, mixing in a little of the flour mixture after each addition. When all the eggs are in, add the remaining flour and mix gently. Tip in the fruit mixture and stir again until just combined.
Tip the mixture into the prepared tin and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake for 2 ¼ hours until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Let the cake cool completely in the tin.
The next day, take the cake out of the tin, poke holes it with a skewer and pour over a couple of tablespoons of rum, then wrap the cake in cling film and store in a tin. Repeat weekly for 4 weeks (or more if you’re keen on booze). The cake is now ready to be marzipan-ed.
Christmas Cakes and Puddings - for those without time or inclination!
If you don't have time to make your pudding or cake this year, you can always order one of our classic (and award-winning) options. Shop Christmas classics now.