Mary Berry (2024)

INTRODUCTION

This is the perfect cake for Christmas, birthdays and all special occasions – it's a winner.

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Put the currants, sultanas, raisins, rinsed, dried and quartered cherries, snipped apricots and chopped mixed peel in a large bowl. Stir in the brandy, cover the bowl and leave in a cool place overnight.
  2. Lightly grease a 23cm/9 in deep round cake tin. Cut a strip of non-stick baking parchment to fit twice around the sides of the tin, fold the bottom edge of the strip up by about 2.5cm/1 in creasing it firmly, then open out the fold and cut slanting lines into this narrow strip at intervals. Put a circle of non-stick baking parchment into the base of the tin, lightly grease the outer edge and then fit the prepared strip of parchment with the snipped edge in the base of the tin to line the sides of the tin. Place a second circle of non-stick baking parchment in to cover the cut part of the paper.
  3. Preheat the oven to 140C/275F/Gas 1.
  4. Put the flour, grated nutmeg, mixed spice, butter, sugar, eggs, chopped almonds, black treacle and the citrus zest into a large bowl and beat well to mix thoroughly. Fold in the soaked fruits.
  5. Spoon the mixture into the prepared cake tin and spread out evenly with the back of a spoon. Decorate the top with the whole blanched almonds and glacé cherries, pushing them lightly into the top of the cake mixture. Cover the top of the cake loosely with a double layer of greaseproof paper. Bake in the pre-heated oven for about 4¼-4 ¾ hours, or until the cake feels firm to the touch and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool in the tin.
  6. When cool, pierce the cake at intervals with a fine skewer and 'feed' with a little splash of brandy. Once the cake is completely cold, leave the lining paper on the cake, wrap in a double layer of greaseproof paper and again in foil. Store in a cool, dry place for up to three months, feeding at intervals with more brandy.

This recipe is taken from:Baking Bible (BBC Books)

Mary Berry (2024)

FAQs

What disability does Mary Berry have? ›

Her mother died in 2011, aged 105. At the age of 13, Berry contracted polio and had to spend three months in the Claverton Down Isolation Hospital. Her illness resulted in her having a twisted spine, a weaker left hand and thinner left arm.

What happened to Mary Berry's son? ›

Mary Berry faced tragedy when her son William died in a car accident in 1989. Mary says it was her Christian faith that sustained her: 'William's death deepened my faith; without its support, I really would have struggled.

What is Mary Berry's catchphrase? ›

Her Most Famous Catchphrase

Mary Berry boasted a few catchphrases during her time in the tent, but none stuck quite like "soggy bottom." It was a constant descriptor that was used, often in correlation with whether a piece of pastry had been baked for a sufficient amount of time.

Does Mary Berry use butter or margarine? ›

With our naturally lower gluten plain flour, made from “softer” British wheat, it gives the cake an airy quality. Queen of cakes Mary Berry insists that margarine makes for a lighter texture than butter.

What disability does Halle Berry have? ›

Halle Berry, the first black woman to win an Oscar for Best Actress, lost nearly 80% of her hearing in her left resulting from a blow to the head during a domestic violence incident in a previous abusive relationship. Berry is now an outspoken advocate for raising awareness about domestic violence.

Why has Mary Berry lost weight? ›

However, she went on to add that her weight plummeted after the death of her beloved son, William. “Sadly, we lost a son,” she said. “William died and I lost a stone and a half and I never put it on again.” Berry's son was just 19-years-old when he passed away in 1989.

What happened to Mary Berry's left thumb? ›

If you've ever noticed that Mary Berry moves her left hand in an odd way that makes it look arthritic, it's the lasting result of polio. She was 13 years old in 1948 when she ended up hospitalized for three months during a polio outbreak.

How rich is Mary Berry? ›

Mary Berry has a considerable net worth

Celebrity Net Worth estimates that Mary Berry is worth $25 million these days. According to Cheat Sheet, Berry has gleaned roughly $112,000 per television series, which has certainly helped her amass her wealth in addition to her cookbooks.

Where does Mary Berry's daughter live? ›

Mary's daughter Annabel Bosher, 45, is married to Dan and they live on a farm in Oxford shire, less than an hour's drive from Mary's home, with their three children: Louis, 12, Hobie, ten, and Atalanta, six. Mary started as a judge on The Great British Bake Off in 2010 alongside the baker Paul Hollywood.

What is Mary Berry's most famous recipe? ›

Mary Berry's easy Victoria sponge cake recipe is a baking classic and a tasty tea-time treat.

What is Mary Berry's nickname? ›

Contrast that with Hollywood, who grew up in a working-class Merseyside family, suggesting he would be more au fait with such slang. So if Berry really wasn't happy with Hollywood's pet name for her, at least she can take solace in knowing he didn't go full Oxford and call her "Mezza Bezza."

Who taught Mary Berry to cook? ›

Mary learned the art of baking from her mother before training at the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu in Paris at the age of just 17.

What brand of butter does Martha Stewart use? ›

Martha Stewart's Favorite Butter Brands

Some butters are really salty." Stewart told the publication she tends to bake with two different butter brands: Vermont Creamery and Kerrygold. Even though they're “just butter,” Vermont Creamery's cultured butter and Kerrygold's Irish butter are anything but basic.

What is the best butter to bake with? ›

Unsalted butter is better suited to baked goods like cookies that are sensitive to salt content and rely on butter's creamy flavor profile, helping ensure that you don't end up with an overly-salty baked good.

How does Mary Berry soften butter? ›

It's nearly always too hard, this is a foolproof way of softening it. Here I've got butter, very, very cold, straight from the fridge. Put those squares into lukewarm water, sort of the temperature of a baby's bath. And leave it for about 10 minutes.

What type of arthritis does Mary Berry have? ›

Writing in her 2013 autobiography, Berry recalled the upsetting ordeal she faced when separated from her parents. At just 13-years-old, Mary Berry contracted Polio which permanently affected her left handCredit: Paul Edwards -Commissioned by The Sun.

Why did they get rid of Mary Berry? ›

Mary left GBBO because the U.K. series switched networks. The show, which originally aired on BBC, decided to move to Channel 4 instead of sticking with BBC. Unhappy with the decision, Mary left the cast to show her loyalty to BBC.

What are some interesting facts about Mary Berry? ›

Mary Berry trained at The Cordon Bleu in Paris and Bath School of Home Economics. In the swinging '60s she became the cookery editor of Housewife magazine, followed by Ideal Home magazine. Her first television series Afternoon Plus with Judith Chalmers came out in the early '70s.

Does Mary Berry have a husband? ›

Former Bake Off presenter Mary Berry has been married to Paul Hunnings for over fifty years.

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