If you make your own Christmas cake

[Pinkyyy]

Share some wisdom!

I'm going to attempt my first ever Christmas cake. Is now a good time to make it? I'd say I was a half decent baker but have never tried anything like this before. Would love some advice on how to make it a success!

@handslikecowstits, I’d be interested in the Mary Berry recipe

This one?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/classicchristmasscake04076

I always do mine at October half term, but now is fine. My sister always does hers then too, but now her children are grown up
and no longer in school I have to tell her when it is.

My top tip (which I think originates with nigella) is to give it its first feed as soon as it comes out of the oven and wrap immediately in foil. This traps the steam from pouring the booze onto hot cake, and keeps the top nice and moist. I have salvaged a slightly singed cake in this way before.

Absolutely worth making mincemeat. Also I found this a great small children activity as its mostly weighing out and stirring. I use Delia's recipe but change the fruit - sonaa long as the weight is the same I put in what I like. This means for example that I can avoid candied peel and add cranberries.

It also makes the house smell AMAZING.

I absolutely love Nigella's jewelled cup cakes, Xmas cake recipe but cup cake version. So pretty and delicious.

They are in her Feast book.

Forget blardy dehlia, use PrettyShiningPeople's BBC good food one!

Failsafe

I always do it over October Half Term. I sometimes do Delia, but my favourite is from one of those recipe cards you get in the supermarkets that I picked up from Sainsbury's years ago.

I make two Christmas cakes the last week in October. Old family recipe. I soak the fruit in brandy for a couple of days before baking. I feed them every weekend up until 23rd December. I ice one on Christmas Eve and decorate it with all the trimmings. Silver balls etc. I leave the other one plain. One of my DILs doesn't like fruitcake, so I make her a chocolate orange devil cake. Yum.

So,anyone got a good mincemeat recipe?

We usually away for Christmas, but not this year. So I'd like to make it special by home baking Christmassy stuff.

PanamaPattie......and ypur recipe for choc orange cake ??

Sounds just what DH would like. And me!!

This is the first year since I retired that I’ve got a working oven, so after a 40 year Christmas cake making gap because life got in the way, I think I’ll have a go again this year now that I’ve been inspired by this thread!
Bit anxious though as I haven’t actually used said brand new oven yet.....

This thread is literally the only thing that has made me miss having a cold Christmas in YEARS

You won’t be disappointed with the James Martin one.

Pinkyyy homemade mincemeat is really nice but if you are short on time you can liven up a jar of shop bought mince meat. Tip contents of jar in to a roomy bowl add a glug of brandy, rum or sherry (orange or apple juice if no alcohol wanted) along with the finely chopped flesh of an eating apple and some grated zest of lemon and/or orange if you have it. Mix well and use. If there is any left pop it in the fridge, it keeps for several days.

I use Delia's recipe for making mincemeat - again, I adjust the oven timings because my oven is more fierce. It keeps forever - I found a jar in the back of the cupboard the other year which was several years old and was still OK. When cold it doesn't look as appetising as the shop bought stuff but it tastes loads better.

I made Mary Berry's classic christmas cake recipe last year but substituted other dried fruit for some of the glace cherries because I only had a small pot of those. We all liked it so I'll probably try that again. She soaks for 3 days beforehand but I definitely didn't remember to do that part.

The recipe I am using this year calls for pouring over booze as soon as it comes out of the oven like a lemon drizzle cake therefore no need to feed.

I love making it, I love adjusting the recipe for the dried fruit I actually like (no dried peel here), I love soaking the fruit in amaretto and orange zest and I love attempting to decorate it to recreate the picture in the St Michael recipe book from the 1970s.

Unfortunately I can never get anyone on board with eating the damn thing!

@Windygate that's a great tip, thank you! I usually take mince pies to everyone I visit over Christmas so that sounds a great option and not very time consuming which is a bonus

I usually make mine in Oct half term but this thread has got me wanting to make it sooner.
I have a recipe from a magazine for a dark, rich, fruity cake but I also make a light one my mum made from Australian Women.’s Weekly. It is on the internet but it isn’t quite the same as it tastes sweeter than it used to so if any Aussie mumsnetters have the old recipe from either 1960’s or 1970’s I would be very grateful. It is the Golden Christmas Cake and it has glacé pineapple and ginger pieces in it. Quite different but equally as delicious. I make the new version and tweak it but it isn’t as good. Either that or my taste buds don’t like it as sweet as I used to.
I have made Delia’s too and it was lovely. I have her Christmas book.
Good luck with it Pinkyyy
I would like to add that you should wrap it in grease proof or baking parchment first before foil as the acid in the fruit can react with the tin foil. I usually double line the tin too before baking and then wrap a double folded brown paper on the outside slightly higher than the tin this helps to stop the top piece wafting about if you have a fan oven.
I have a new Everhot so it will be the first time I have made a fruit cake in it. They didn’t finish the kitchen until two days before Christmas last year! Mum I smell the house thinking about it.

Mincemeat is easier to make than a Christmas Cake! I use vegetable suet so the veggies can have it. It makes a good present as well. It tastes much better than bought. So does Christmas Pudding.

X post . I have that book Grambler🤗

It never looks like this Bowerbird

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2607642/make-and-mature-christmas-cake

I always make this one by James Martin. It is very moist and I only ever feed it once, as soon as it comes out of the oven. I use Rum for preference. Then I leave it to go completely cold before taking it out of the tin and wrapping it in double grease proof paper and then double foil.
I usually make it around mid October, although last year I made it at the beginning of September as we were moving house and it was even better than usual by Christmas tbh.

I make both Delia's mincemeat and Nigella's (with the cranberries)

I also go proper baking barmy at this time of year and make gallons of chutney (just because it's in all the Christmas recipe books) then it all gets binned because none of us like it. (in general, not just mine)

I start binge watching Christmas cookery on YouTube too And sitcom Christmas specials

And I'm still covered in sellotape at 2am on Christmas morning! But I'll never want for chutney!

Thank you @Bowerbird5!

I feel pretty confident about making it now, can't wait! But the decorating might be a whole other story... I wish I could make the intricate little fondant decorations, mine would look like I'd put my toddlers play dough on the cake

I make my own cake, every year, but due to a computer failure, I've lost my usual recipe. The James Martin recipe looks great, but is it ok without the marzipan/icing? Obviously it won't last as long, but apart from that?

@Pinkyyy I saw that thread too and said I'd make my own Christmas cake this year (Never made a fruit cake before) I had completely forgot! Thanks for reminding me, I'd better get googling delia!!