You've got the tree up, the pressie wrapped and the whanau ready to arrive. What's missing? Oh no! The Christmas cake!

A traditional Christmas cake is expensive, takes days to make properly and weeks of feeding with brandy. This super quick recipe can be done just the day before and won't break the bank

Ingredients

1kg mixed dried fruit

2½ cups (600ml) milk

2¾ cups self-raising flour

Method

Place dried fruit in a bowl, cover with the milk and leave to soak in the fridge for at least four hours.

Preheat your oven to 160°C and grease and line a medium cake tin with baking paper.

Stir flour into the fruit mixture and stir until it is evenly combined. Pour into the cake tin and bake until it is risen (about 75 minutes). Check its cooked by inserting a skewer into the centre - it should come out clean - return to the oven for a little longer if needed.

Once cooked, remove from oven and cool in the tin before turning out.

Decorate with a light icing and some fresh fruit for a beautiful cake everyone will enjoy.