Four savvy ways to save on your homemade Christmas cake for Stir-up Sunday
TODAY is Stir-up Sunday, the traditional day for starting your Christmas cake.
The custom is for every member of the family to give it a stir and make a wish.
Today’s festive bake costs far more than the silver sixpence once stirred into the mixture.
So, hard-pressed cooks can try these cheaper ways to have their cake and eat it.
COUNT IT DOWN: As a rule of thumb, the shorter the list of ingredients, the less you will have to shell out.
That makes Sainsbury’s recipe for a five-ingredient Christmas cake a winner.
But you can always make shortcuts on another bake. Instead of buying a range of different spices, just get one jar of mixed spice for 55p from Aldi.
And there is no need to buy separate raisins, currants and sultanas. Instead, get a mixed bag. Morrisons Savers mixed dried fruit is £1.25 for 500g.
TOP OF THE SHOPS: Saving on the main ingredients will bring the price of your bake right down.
Asda looks cheapest for most of the essentials, with a kilo of mixed fruit for £2.45, 150g ground almonds for £1.20, £1.35 for light brown sugar, 500g, and 1.5kg of Just Essentials flour for 70p.
FAKE IT TO BAKE IT: Cut a few corners to reduce the cost. You could buy a simple supermarket fruit cake and feed it rum, brandy or whisky.
Poke a few holes in the cake with a skewer and drip over a tablespoon or two of the booze, before wrapping with baking parchment and putting it back in the tin.
Repeat two or three more times before Christmas. Cut waste and save some cash with a Christmas cake kit. Lakeland has a Christmas fruit cake mix for £6.99.
CHECK THESE OUT: A tasty shop-bought cake doesn’t need to be costly.
In Good Housekeeping Institute’s taste test, the runner-up was Aldi’s Specially Selected rich iced fruit cake, £7.99 — less than half the price of the winning Waitrose No1 rich fruit cake, £18.50.
- All prices on page correct at time of going to press. Deals and offers subject to availability.
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