Mincemeat Cake – Easy Mince Pie Cake

What can possibly be better than mince pies and a cake in one? This incredible (in my humble view) easy mince pie cake is everything you could want for a Christmas mincemeat cake. It is a soft and moist cake filled with mincemeat and Christmas spices to create a truly delicious mincemeat cake.

This mincemeat cake traybake takes 20 minutes to make, 30 minutes to cook and only seconds to enjoy. A lovely family-friendly mincemeat sponge cake recipe that is perfect for kids to help make but also looks fabulous as a grown-up Christmas party cake.

The easy mince pie cake is filled with a luxurious mix of apple, dried fruits and candied peel in a mix of mixed spices. (ground cinnamon, ground ginger and ground cloves). As a mincemeat traybake goes this is the quickest and easy one you will find.

To decorate the mincemeat cake traybake I add some pulled apart up mince pies to add even more festive cheer to the cake. The little pieces of pastry from the mince pies really do add a great texture and flavour to this mincemeat cake recipes UK. You can also add dried orange slices to your mincemeat cake, they look beautiful and smell even better.

slice of mincemeat traybake with cream cheese buttercream and sprinkles. Purple plate on a red cloth with two forks and foliage in the background

Why you’ll love this mince pie cake recipe

  • This recipe is full of Christmas cheer!
  • It uses up that jar of mincemeat you’ve had in your cupboard to make an incredible moist cake.
  • The Mincemeat is full of Christmas flavours and as it bakes the house will fill with the best smells. Perfect to get you into the Christmas spirit.
  • An easy Christmas traybake that can be easily transported in the tin it’s baked in.
  • It is a perfect cake for sharing with all ages
  • It can be decorated how you like and is a great way to get children involved with Christmas activities as they decorate the easy mince pie cake.

Top Questions

How to make an old fashioned mincemeat Christmas cake?

What size of Mincemeat cake traybake will feed a lot of people?

What do I need to make an easy mincemeat cake recipe uk?

How can I keep my Mincemeat sponge cake moist?

How can I decorate a mincemeat traybake?

Can I use mince pies instead of a jar of mincemeat?

Can I put mincemeat in a cake?

Mincemeat Cake topped with broken mince pies and christmas sprinkles on a red blanket with Christmas decorations.

Ingredients

For this easy Christmas mincemeat cake traybake you only need 10 ingredients and 3 of those are just spices. If you prefer some spices more than others then please omit them and add as to your taste.

  • unsalted butter (or baking block like Stork)
  • caster sugar
  • medium eggs
  • teaspoon vanilla extract
  • plain flour / all purpose flour
  • baking powder
  • ground cloves
  • lots of ground cinnamon
  • ground ginger
  • mincemeat (mince pie filling)

How to make mince pie cake – step by step mincemeat cake

  • In a large mixing bowl cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
  • Add the eggs and mix in, one at a time. Add in the vanilla extract.
  • Sieve the flour, baking powder, spices and salt into the mixing bowl. Mix everything until well combined.
  • Gently stir the mincemeat (mince pie filling) into the cake mix.
  • Pour the mix into the prepared sheet pan/traybake tin and level out. Gently tap the tin on the worktop to remove any air bubbles.
  • Bake for about 35 minutes until the centre of the cake is cooked – use a cake tester or skewer to check. If the tester comes out clean the cake is cooked. If it has pieces of uncooked cake on leave the cake to cook for a few minutes more and test again.
  • Leave in the tin to cool for 30 minutes and then remove from the tin to cool completely.
  • Mix together the icing sugar, butter and cream cheese to make the smooth and delicious cream cheese buttercream.
Mince pies in cake and used as decoration on a christmas traybake.

Top Tips

The best top tip I can give is to add the crumbled-up mince pies to the top of the easy mincemeat cake when decorating. It really adds something special to the bake and the addition of the pastry is absolutely incredibly delicious.

Use butter (if not a baking block) and eggs from room temperature if you can. It makes it easier in the long run when mixing by hand and can help stop your mix from curdling.

You can make this mincemeat sponge cake by hand or with the mixer. If you use a mixer stop before adding the mincemeat in and mix it in my hand so it stays in bigger lumps through the mixture.

slice of Christmas mincemeat traybake cake decorated with broken mince pies and golden star sprinkles

Serving Suggestions

The mincemeat cake recipes are best served with the lovely cream cheese buttercream. However, it also tastes lovely warm from the oven with ice cream or even custard if you want to make it more of a dessert.

If you don’t like the buttercream on top, a sprinkling of icing sugar will also work really well and look very festive.

Equipment

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close up of broken mince pies on a cream cheese buttercream topped mincemeat cake with Christmas sprinkles

Storing mincemeat cake / Making ahead of time options

This cake is brilliant to make ahead of time as you can make it 2-3 days in advance. Make the easy mincemeat cake and before decorating its store it in an air-tight box or wrapped in plastic. Bring out when you’re ready and top with the buttercream and decorate.

Christmas mincemeat sponge cake on a cooling rack with christmas foliage in the background.

Substitutions and variations

There are a few ways you can make or change this mincemeat cake recipe UK to make it more to your taste.

Can only find mince pies instead of mincemeat? Then crumble up 12 mince pies and mix them into the mixture including the pastry. It will add a lovely texture to the mincemeat traybake and there is something lovely about the pieces of pastry in the cake.

Add more spices to the cake mixture to give it even more of a Christmas flavour. I add ground cinnamon and ground ginger but you can also add ground cloves and nutmeg too. I love adding a sprinkling of spices into the cream cheese buttercream too.

If you don’t want to add the buttercream topping you can add a dusting of icing sugar which is just as delicious.

Change the decorations by adding your festive favourites. I add crumbled mince pies to the top but you can add your favourite sprinkles, fresh fruit or even have a drizzle of chocolate on!

Be really adventurous and add a topping of crumble to the easy mincemeat cake as it cooks.

Slice of mince pie cake with cream cheese  frosting decorated with mince pies

FAQS about making a mincemeat cake

How to make an old fashioned mincemeat Christmas cake?

The best way to make an old fashioned mincemeat Christmas cake is with a simple sponge recipe. It makes a lovely moist cake which lasts really well for up to five days when stored somewhere cool. Scroll down for the recipe.

What size Mincemeat cake traybake will feed a lot of people?

This mincemeat cake measures 9 inches by 12 inches and makes 12 large slices. If you wanted to make it feed more it easily could. For smaller size pieces you could easily cut this mincemeat traybake into 24 if not 30 slices. They would be cute bite-size treats and perfect Christmas party food.

What do I need to make an easy mincemeat cake recipe uk?

This easy mincemeat cake recipe uk is a soft sponge so you only need the essential sponge cake ingredients. All you need is butter, sugar, eggs, flour, baking powder, vanilla extract, a pinch of salt and lots of Christmas spices and of course mincemeat.

How can I keep my Mincemeat sponge cake moist?

The best thing about this mincemeat cake recipe is that the mincemeat you add in really keeps the cake moist. Even a few days later it will be a soft mincemeat sponge to enjoy.

How can I decorate a mincemeat traybake?

There are so many ways to decorate a mincemeat traybake – I love to keep it simple with crumbled-up mince pies on top.

You can also decorate with fresh fruit, even more sprinkles or even Christmas chocolates.

Can I use mince pies instead of a jar of mincemeat?

Yes, you absolutely can use mince pies instead of a jar of mincemeat. The texture of the mince pies in the finished bake is absolutely delicious and looks great too. Crumble the mince pies into the mixture with your hands, leaving a good range of sized pieces.

When adding mince pies to the mix gently add them when stiring so you keep them as a whole as possible. Bake for the same amount of time.

Can I put mincemeat in a cake?

You can put mincemeat in a cake, it makes the easy mincemeat cake so delicious, simply spoon it into your mixture just after adding your favourite Christmas spices. A Christmas spiced cake is amazing with mincemeat.

Other Christmas recipes and sweet treats you might like

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Mince Pie Cake Recipe

Mincemeat Cake – Easy Christmas Mince Pie Cake

Sisley White
What can possibly be better than mince pies and a cake in one? This incredible (in my humble view) mince pie cake is everything you could want for Christmas. It is a soft and moist cake filled with mincemeat and Christmas spices to create a truly delicious mincemeat cake.
A great alternative to Christmas pudding and a perfect Christmas party cake.
5 from 7 votes
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Decorating Time 20 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Course Bakes, Cakes, Party Food, Sweet Treats
Cuisine American, English, International
Servings 12 Large Slices
Calories 771 kcal

Ingredients
 

  • 400 g (1 ¾ cups) unsalted butter (or baking block like Stork)
  • 350 g (1 ¾ cups) caster sugar
  • 4 medium (4 medium) eggs
  • 0.5 teaspoon (½ teaspoon) vanilla extract
  • 400 g (3 ⅕ cups) plain flour / all purpose flour
  • 0.5 teaspoon (½ teaspoon) baking powder
  • small pinch (small pinch) salt
  • 0.5 teaspoon (½ teaspoon) ground cinnamon
  • 0.5 teaspoon (½ teaspoon) ground ginger
  • 0.5 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 400 g (1 ⅘ cups) mincemeat (mince pie filling)

Cheese Buttercream Frosting

  • 125 g (4 ⅖ oz) unsalted butter
  • 150 g (1 ¼ cups) icing sugar / confectioners sugar
  • 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) vanilla extract
  • 180 g (6 ⅓ oz) cream cheese (I used Philadelphia)

Decoration

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 180ºC.
  • Grease and line a 9 inch by 12 inch traybake cake tin with greaseproof paper.
  • In a large mixing bowl cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
  • Add the eggs and mix in, one at a time.
  • Sieve the flour, baking powder and salt into the mixing bowl. Mix everything until well combined.
  • Add the spices to the mix and stir in.
  • Gently stir the mincemeat (mince pie filling) into the cake mix.
  • Pour the mix into the prepared sheet pan/traybake tin and level out. Gently tap the tin on the worktop to remove any air bubbles.
  • Bake for about 35 minutes until the centre of the cake is cooked – use a cake tester or skewer to check. If the tester comes out clean the cake is cooked. If it has pieces of uncooked cake on leave the cake to cook for a few minutes more and test again.
  • Leave in the tin to cool for 30 minutes and then remove from the tin to cool completely.

Cream Cheese Buttercream

  • Make sure the unsalted butter is at room temperature as it will help make it a lot easier to make.
  • Using a hand mixer, mix the butter and icing sugar.
  • Add the cream cheese and create a smooth mix. It should be more thick than runny and will hold its shape. If it's too runny add a tablespoon of icing sugar at a time and whisk until it thickens up.

Decorating the mince pie cake

  • Smear the cream cheese buttercream thickly over the cold cake.
  • Decorate with crumbled up mince pies and your favourite Christmas sprinkles.

Notes

•The cake will last for up to 5 days in an air tight container.
•Store somewhere cool but not the fridge.
•For the best results use the eggs and butter from room temperature.
•Add your favourite toppings and sprinkles to make it look extra festive

Nutrition

Calories: 771kcalCarbohydrates: 93gProtein: 7gFat: 42gSaturated Fat: 26gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 165mgSodium: 279mgPotassium: 90mgFiber: 2gSugar: 65gVitamin A: 1374IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 50mgIron: 2mg

Please note that the nutrition information provided above is approximate and meant as a guideline only.

Keyword bake, cake, Christmas, christmas traybake, mince pie, Mince pie cake, mince pies in cake, mincemeat cake, mincemeat sponge cake, mincemeat traybake, sheet cakes, Traybake
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14 thoughts on “Mincemeat Cake – Easy Mince Pie Cake”

  1. 5 stars
    Oh, I can almost smell this baking! My grandma would always make mincemeat pies around the holidays, so I will be making this to surprise the family this year!

    Reply

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