Causing a stir...

Queen of fizzing flavours Nadiya Hussain reveals her fruit-cake secret in time for ‘Stir-up Sunday’ and shares her take on banana loaf

- REBECCA FLETCHER

NADIYA’S FAST FLAVOURS THURSDAY / BBC2 / 8.30PM / EP 3 of 6 / COOKERY

This weekend traditionally sees the start of festive-fare preparations with ‘Stir-up Sunday’, a much-loved Victorian custom where families get together to make Christmas puddings and cakes on the last Sunday before Advent.

And, naturally, queen of novel flavour combinations Nadiya Hussain has added a twist to her endeavours!

‘I absolutely adore fruit cake, so in November I start making mine,’ says the 2015 winner of The Great British Bake Off, who’s currently making our taste buds sizzle with her BBC2 cookery series Nadiya’s Fast Flavours.

‘Being Muslim, I don’t celebrate Christmas in the traditional way, but it’s my sister’s birthday on Christmas Eve and she loves fruit cake, too, so I make her one as a present every year. With a signature twist, of course.’

Here, Nadiya, 36, tells us more…

The suspense is killing us, Nadiya! What’s your twist on fruit cake?

Earl Grey tea!

You’re kidding?!

Trust me, it’s a really good nonalcoholic alternative. I don’t drink, so every week I feed my fruit cake Earl Grey instead of booze, and add a little almond extract. It’s dense, it’s divine and I like to chop it up into small pieces and eat it with cheese.

My sister’s birthday is Christmas Eve and my birthday is Christmas Day, so, as you can imagine, there’s a lot of celebrating with cake on those days!

What are you making on Nadiya’s Fast Flavours this week?