A Christmas cake can be the centre piece of any family table during the festive season.
Guests love a small piece served with a cup of tea, perhaps on a lighter day when they have had enough of the dinners and the Pudding etc.
Serve small slices, as it is quite rich and one will not need too much!
You can either make a traditional round cake or a square or oblong one, but make sure your tin is deep enough for your mixture.
The cake can be iced with royal or roll out fondant icing over a blanket of marzipan or with fruit and nuts on the top, covered in a glaze.
I will also give the recipe for a good Madeira cake as an alternative to the rich fruit cake for those who either do not like it or would like another type of cake for the children.
Traditional Christmas cake -grandmothers recipe!
ingredients-
16oz general purpose white flour 1/4 pint brandy
16oz brown sugar(dark brown ) 1/2 tsp baking powder
16oz fresh butter 1/2 tsp mixed spice
8oz raisins 8 eggs
12oz sultanas
16oz currants
4oz glace cherries chopped in half
8oz chopped candied peel
4oz blanched almonds
method
1. Cream butter, sugar until lighter in colour and soft.
2. Beat the eggs and slowly add to the creamed mixture.
3. Add flour and baking powder the fruit,peel and cherries,chopped almonds,brandy and mix well.
4. put the mixture into a 10 inch greased lined tin.
5. Bake for 5 hours at gas mark 1-250 Fahrenheit or 120 centigrade if using electric ovens.
6. If the cake starts to get too brown on top and still not cooked then place greaseproof paper or a piece of baking foil on the top to stop from burning.
7. Remove from oven when done and leave for ten Min's or to cool a little then remove from the tin and place on cooling wire.
8. you do not need to add marzipan or decoration at this stage- the cake is best left to rest for a couple of weeks and can be infused with more brandy by putting a skewer through the cake at various points and pour a dribble of alcohol into the small holes. make sure the cake is on a cake board before you start to do this. cover with greaseproof paper.
9. we will progress to decoration at a later date.
To test the cake use a skewer or old thin knitting needle and put through the middle to bottom. when your take it back out it should look clean with no residue on needle or skewer.
if you have never made a Christmas cake before-to line your tin cut out a circle,square or oblong to fit the base of your tin in greaseproof paper. cut another piece to fit all around the sides-it should be about 3 inches higher than the top of the tin.
fold over about half an inch or 3 cm and snip up to the fold-you will be able to fit this into the tin for a good fit now.
use butter or margarine to stick the base paper to the base of the tin and like wise at the sides with the other piece.
Guests love a small piece served with a cup of tea, perhaps on a lighter day when they have had enough of the dinners and the Pudding etc.
Serve small slices, as it is quite rich and one will not need too much!
You can either make a traditional round cake or a square or oblong one, but make sure your tin is deep enough for your mixture.
The cake can be iced with royal or roll out fondant icing over a blanket of marzipan or with fruit and nuts on the top, covered in a glaze.
I will also give the recipe for a good Madeira cake as an alternative to the rich fruit cake for those who either do not like it or would like another type of cake for the children.
Traditional Christmas cake -grandmothers recipe!
ingredients-
16oz general purpose white flour 1/4 pint brandy
16oz brown sugar(dark brown ) 1/2 tsp baking powder
16oz fresh butter 1/2 tsp mixed spice
8oz raisins 8 eggs
12oz sultanas
16oz currants
4oz glace cherries chopped in half
8oz chopped candied peel
4oz blanched almonds
method
1. Cream butter, sugar until lighter in colour and soft.
2. Beat the eggs and slowly add to the creamed mixture.
3. Add flour and baking powder the fruit,peel and cherries,chopped almonds,brandy and mix well.
4. put the mixture into a 10 inch greased lined tin.
5. Bake for 5 hours at gas mark 1-250 Fahrenheit or 120 centigrade if using electric ovens.
6. If the cake starts to get too brown on top and still not cooked then place greaseproof paper or a piece of baking foil on the top to stop from burning.
7. Remove from oven when done and leave for ten Min's or to cool a little then remove from the tin and place on cooling wire.
8. you do not need to add marzipan or decoration at this stage- the cake is best left to rest for a couple of weeks and can be infused with more brandy by putting a skewer through the cake at various points and pour a dribble of alcohol into the small holes. make sure the cake is on a cake board before you start to do this. cover with greaseproof paper.
9. we will progress to decoration at a later date.
To test the cake use a skewer or old thin knitting needle and put through the middle to bottom. when your take it back out it should look clean with no residue on needle or skewer.
if you have never made a Christmas cake before-to line your tin cut out a circle,square or oblong to fit the base of your tin in greaseproof paper. cut another piece to fit all around the sides-it should be about 3 inches higher than the top of the tin.
fold over about half an inch or 3 cm and snip up to the fold-you will be able to fit this into the tin for a good fit now.
use butter or margarine to stick the base paper to the base of the tin and like wise at the sides with the other piece.
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