Best Christmas cake 2020: The woman&home taste test

£25. Bursting with plump sherry-infused vine fruits and natural glacé cherries, this cake feels grown-up and sophisticated. We liked the minimal icing and the gorgeous hand-stencilled bell design. When cutting the cake, Bettys recommend using a sharp serrated knife and a sawing action if you want to achieve the best slices.

£15. Rich and buttery, this cake was made for the self-confessed chocolate lovers out there. Chocolate lovers rejoice. It’s packed with fruit, nuts and a dash of indulgent chocolate liqueur. To decorate the cake, which serves 12, M&S have used chocolate flavoured sauce, sweetened dried cranberries, candied orange slices and more nuts!

£11. The design on this cake is simple, understated and chic, which we loved but it helps that it tastes fantastic too. There is a good balance of icing to marzipan with neither overpowering the other. It’s rich, moist and full of flavour thanks to the infusion of brandy and variety of fruit inside.

£10. Marvellously light in texture but bold in flavour thanks to the addition of oak-aged brandy and Cognac. This Christmas fruit cake is festively spiced and packed with juicy vine fruits and the classic glace cherries. For uniform slices, it’s recommended that you clean the knife after each cut. Plus, if you’re a Tesco Clubcard holder and you buy the cake before the 7 December, it will only cost you £7.50.

£6.99 - Available in store. The subtle shimmer on this chic cake design makes it worthy of a spot on any Christmas table. We enjoyed the good even layers of icing and marzipan which cover a rich, spiced fruit cake. This cake would be good for the whole family as even though it’s infused with brandy, the taste of alcohol isn’t prominent. At under £7, we thought this cake was excellent value for money.

£35. Not only does this cake have an adorable festive design, it’s perfect for families where everyone wants something different! There’s a classic Christmas cake with brandy-soaked fruit and a generous layer of icing and marzipan, a chocolate sponge and a golden sponge with raspberry jam and vanilla buttercream.

£8. There is a nice variety of fruit in this classic cake and we particularly enjoyed the abundance of cherries. We admired the simplicity of the hand-decorated design, which makes it an easy addition to any festive setting. Our taste testers thought the sponge was moist and moreish but perhaps a little sweet for some. The cake is suitable for vegetarians.

£25. Decadently topped with nuts and cherries, this luxury cake is perfect for those who don’t like icing or marzipan but still want something special for their centrepiece. The cake is suitable for vegetarians and is hand-fed with French brandy. It has a very crumbly texture and would be the perfect partner to a hot pot of tea.

£9. The gold and bronze tones in the decoration for this cake make it look truly special. The fruit cake contains all the classics you’d expect such as sultanas, raisins and glacé cherries. There’s also French brandy, candied citrus peel, split almonds and chopped walnuts in the mix. The edible sugar decorations sit on top of even layers of marzipan and icing for a lovely festive finish.

£18, Ocado. Made by hand using an old family recipe, this simple Christmas cake might not have any showstopping decorations but it’s packed with fruit, spices and soaked in brandy. If you wanted, you could ice and decorate the cake yourself and it’s then at least half-homemade! Another interesting and impressive feature of the cake is that 20% of the electricity used to bake it was generated using solar panels on their organic farm in the Cotswolds! We also really like the tin which can be re-used to keep other treats in once the cake has been eaten.