It may be one of the longest-standing festive traditions, but Nigella Lawson has urged people to ditch Christmas cake this year and opt for a family-friendly chocolate one instead.
The celebrity chef said there was no point in having a dried fruit cake “gathering dust” on the kitchen counter, and families should choose a festive dessert that would go down better with visiting guests over the winter break.
Lawson – who has said she cooked a Christmas meal for 35 people one year – said she would be making one of her classic crowd-pleasing chocolate cakes this Christmas, in what has become a new festive tradition in her household.
“Much as I love a slice of dense, damp Christmas cake, especially when eaten with a slice of strong, sharp cheese, I am surrounded by those who abominate dried fruit in all its seasonal manifestations,” she said in the Sunday Times.
“If no one in your family likes dried fruit, there’s no point having a Christmas cake gathering dust or just being eaten on sufferance. If chocolate cake appeals more, go for it.”
Signs suggest the Christmas cake, which dates back to the 16th century, is waning in popularity, and if you find you ending up chucking half of yours in the bin at the end of January, you are probably not alone.
A consumer survey by the Delicious Dessert Company in 2022 found under-35s considered fruit cake the “most boring” type of cake, with a third of people in that age group considering it in need of a makeover.
According to Ocado, one in five people who buy or bake a Christmas cake admit they do not enjoy it themselves.
“It was made clear to me long ago that, in the interest of harmony in the home, I needed to introduce a new tradition that made us all happy, and this [chocolate] cake is it,” she said. “Tradition is a glorious thing at this time of year, but I’m all for embracing new Christmas rituals of our own.”
But Lawson has not ditched all Christmas dessert traditions. She will still be making a small Christmas pudding and a trifle.
