Bloody Delia!!!!! (Light hearted)

[reemsandreems]

Delia's Cookery Course Christmas cake instructions [with suggested edits from me] ...

1. Preheat the oven.
2. Line the tin.

[2a. Build a time machine ]

1. The night before you make the cake, soak all the fruit.

I guess I'll have to make the cake tomorrow instead. 🤔

Never mind soaking the fruit the night before, you should have made your cake in October 😁

I usually make mine on August Bank Holiday Monday because DP usually works and the weather is crap.

Soaking fruit overnight is a standard part of making a Christmas cake. Have you never made one before?

But something to watch out for. Her timings (and most recipes) are way off. I think it's because ovens have got better, but it usually takes nowhere near what it says for it to bake. I used a Delia recipe and it said 4 hours. It was done in under 3 (skewer test).

They need to stop telling people to preheat the oven first too. Ours heats up in under 5 minutes so would sit empty and costing money while I was still gathering and weighing out ingredients, let alone mixing everything together.

I fell into this trap 2 years running! This year and last I actually remembered and felt very proud of myself!

Onwards year I made a cake early and forgot I had. Found it in March. I have no idea what we ate instead or why I didn't notice it missing.

I fell into this trap six weeks ago OP. I make one every year and yet still never learn.

If you want to make the cake this afternoon, soak the fruit in orange juice this morning for a few hours in a pan over a very low heat. Or in a slow cooker if you have one.

Delia has a Christmas cake recipe using a jar of (luxury) mincemeat. I did it one year it was quite good. Add extra brandy tho. 😉

My last post was teasing rather than serious. You can warm the booze and put the fruit in it then crack on with the cake. I think she does a Carribbean version which doesn't need to be made in advance too. I'm not sure it's going to make a massive difference tbh.

I think soaking for an hour is fine. 30 minutes at a push.

Anything that needs the fruit soaking in advance can be accelerated by heating the soaking liquid first, so you should be good to go by lunchtime. It just needs to be enough to plump up all the fruit. Enjoy your cake!

They need to stop telling people to preheat the oven first too. Ours heats up in under 5 minutes

It depends what you are making @BarbaraofSeville.
For great results for sponge cakes and pastry I would still preheat the oven. My Delia cake recipes all work using her timings and temperatures, but I don't make fruit cakes.

Maybe I'll use the pre-heated oven for that. 😁