Easy Christmas Mincemeat Sponge Cake

I know how it is, with a busy household, all our Christmas baking come sometimes feel a bit overwhelming. Did you run out of time for your traditional Christmas Cake? Do you need a last minute offering that’s just as impressive? Or perhaps you like things a little lighter anyway and you want a version that’s more sponge than fruit.

Well this Mincemeat Christmas Cake is a brilliant bake to have up your sleeve come the festive season. It’s my favourite way to keep a Christmas cake in the mix whilst making it a little more accessible for those family members who aren’t sold on the hefty traditional number. And if you have copious jars of mincemeat still to use up after making your mince pies then this is a great way to make the most of them.

Ingredients Needed

Sponge Cake

Mincemeat. Traditionally used to fill mince pies, this Christmas staple is full of richly spiced dried fruits and often citrus and brandy. You can actually use any mincemeat you have to hand, but if you are buying it in then I seriously recommend good quality mincemeat as it will just produce a tastier cake.

However, if you can push the boat out then using your own mincemeat is vastly superior. These homemade mincemeat recipes  all work deliciously in this cake:

• Easy Mincemeat Recipe
• Boozy Cranberry Mincemeat with Cointreau
• Old-Fashioned Beef Mincemeat

Gluten-Free Flour – FTL Blend. This recipe uses my Homemade Gluten-Free All Purpose Flour which works really well here as the flour ratio has been carefully tested to ensure the mix between wholegrain flours and starchy flours is balanced. This also means we don’t need to use xanthan gum as the blend is strong enough and produces a well structured and textured bake which can hold together without needing any extra binders.

This flour blend is a mix of 4 different flours:

• Sweet rice flour (glutinous rice flour).
• Sorghum flour.
• Oat flour.
• Tapioca flour (tapioca starch).

There are plenty of flour substitution tips ideas if you click on the original post for this homemade flour mix. 

Almond flour. You are looking for blanched ground almonds. There is a bit of labelling confusion over almond flour which is sold as ‘ground almonds’ in most major UK supermarkets and found in the baking aisle. If you want to know what exactly you are looking for then check out this post >>> Is Almond Flour The Same As Ground Almonds. 

Caster sugar. It’s a fine white baking sugar available in the UK. Regular white granulated sugar can be substituted.

Unsalted butter. We need unsalted so we can control the salt content of the recipe. Make sure it is at room temperature.

Eggs. This recipe uses medium size, about 60g each with shell (50g each without shell). These are often classified as large eggs in the US. I recommend weighing your eggs to ensure the correct amount.

Sour cream. Using sour cream is excellent in gluten-free cakes as it helps the texture and flavour of the cake. It adds moisture and a subtle tang and leads to a soft rich tender crumb. 

Vanilla extract. Use a good quality extract, I like Nielsen Massey.

Baking powder. A leaving agent which causes the cake to rise and become light and fluffy. Do check your baking powder is gluten-free before use.

Mixed spice. A little extra spice really accentuates our Christmas flavours. If you can't get hold of mixed spice in the shops then try this Homemade British Mixed Spice Recipe.

Brandy Cream

Icing sugar. (powdered sugar / confectioners sugar).

Double cream. You can substitute for heavy cream or whipping cream.

Brandy. If you want your cake to avoid alcohol then you can omit and just use more cream plus 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.

How To Make Mincemeat Sponge Cake

For full recipe instructions go to the recipe card at the end of this post.

Preheat the oven and prepare the tin: Preheat the oven to 180°C / 160°C fan-assisted / gas mark 4 / 350°F. Line and grease a 23cm (9-inch) round cake tin to ensure the cake doesn’t stick and bakes evenly.

Cream the butter and sugar: Beat together butter and sugar on a slow to medium speed for 2–3 minutes until light and fluffy. This step incorporates air, creating a lighter cake texture.

Add eggs and vanilla: Beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well between each addition to prevent curdling. Stir in the vanilla extract to enhance the flavour.

Prepare the dry ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk together the gluten-free flour, almond flour, baking powder, and salt. This ensures the dry ingredients are evenly distributed, leading to a uniform bake.

Mix the batter: Add a third of the dry mixture to the wet ingredients and combine well. Mix in the sour cream for moisture and richness, followed by the second third of the dry mixture.

Incorporate the mincemeat: Toss the mincemeat in the final third of the flour mixture to coat it evenly. Add this to the batter and mix until just combined, preventing overmixing and maintaining a tender crumb.

Bake the cake: Pour the batter into the prepared tin, smoothing the surface for even baking. Bake for 40–45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Allow the cake to settle for 5 minutes, then carefully remove it from the tin and cool on a wire rack.

Make the brandy cream icing: Mix icing sugar with double cream until smooth, then stir in brandy, one tablespoon at a time, until it reaches a thick dropping consistency. Spoon the icing over the cooled cake, nudging it to the edges so it drips decoratively down the sides.

Recommended equipment - Stand Mixer, Silicone Spatula, 23cm Springform Cake Tin, Baking Parchment, Cake Release Spray, Cooling Racks, Christmas Tree Cake Decoration, Reindeer Cake Decoration

More Mincemeat Recipes You'll Love

Gluten-Free Mincemeat Muffins are moist and packed with warm spices and fruity mincemeat and have a gorgeously crisp streusel topping.

Bramley Apple Mincemeat Pudding is a must at this time of year. It's one of my favourite recipes using leftover mincemeat and is also proved very popular as a lighter sponge cake alternative to Christmas Pudding.

The secret behind the gorgeous texture of these Christmas Mince Pie Crumble Bars is the mincemeat cheesecake filling which bakes and melts into the buttery oaty shortbread crumble. The texture is crisp and oaty on top and bottom with a soft rich middle which is full of festive flavour.