Anyone making a Christmas cake and is it worth it?

[MooMooFarm]

Am thinking about it after getting all inspired and having a flick through 'Delia's Christmas' last night. She starts by saying her Christmas recipe book is something I should have 'reached for in October' so I'm already behind schedule ha ha.

So should I try making the cake or is it not worth the agro?

When I were a lass, our christmas cake always had FC and some leggy reindeers battling gamely through hip high drifts on top of it. And then we had to hack them out of it with a chisel

I buy the ready to roll stuff

lol Orm

slubber Oooohh, Mmmmm. amaretto in the cake sounds delish - did you add it in the original mix too? I made mine last week, with rum in the mix, so I wonder if amaretto would go with it?

Def worth it. Am making mine this afternoon. Have all ingredients lined up on kitchen worktop and am letting eggs and butter come to room temp.

I do Delia. Did Nigella one year but it was too pale for me. Am making a round one for us and will make a big square one next week to cut up into squares to ice separately to sell at Xmas Fair at school.

Not overly keen on pudding so won't bother with that.

Am also planning on making a yule log with DS I think. He doesn't like fruit cake but does like chocolate cake.

Tilly I did (soaked the fruit in it) and will be feeding it with the amaretto too, my first year of trying this.

I probably wouldn't mix my spirits though..I guess you'll just have to have a rum and a separate amaretto cake. shame

We always have a Yule log too buda. None of the DC like fruit cake.

I do the Gary Rhodes one. Very easy, just stir it all together, cook for hours, put in a tin for 6 weeks until Xmas..

It's probably just as well, I can't keep my hands off the cake once it's cut into, anyway!

I do the recipe my granny, then my mum used to make, which is very rich. I saw a recipe for a chocolate fruit cake in one of the mags - has anyone tried that?

when does everyone start eating their cake????

Well it's now in the oven! Burnt one the last 2 years as I recall so will be keeping a careful eye. My fruit has been soaking for almost a week and I kept adding another slug of brandy. Licking the spoon was interesting!

Orm - was just thinking that next year I will be making my cake in Somerset!

A work colleague made the chocolate fruit cake last year and brought some in - it was nice and rich but didn't actually taste chocolatey at all, so I don't know if it was worth the bother really.

Have been really good today btw, weighed out all the dried fruit this morning and got it soaking in brandy for tomorrow when I will get cooking. Delia says add 3 tablespoons of brandy, but that didn't seem to even wet it all, so I probably sploshed in about 6 spoons - have I buggered it up or doesn't it matter? (slightly panicking now)...

And after reading post before mine - should I soak the fruit for longer than a day? Delia says 12 hours overnight, so I thought I was being 'out there' by leaving it 24 hrs.

I think Delia is a bit stingy with the alcohol tbh so kept sloshing more in!

I left it a week as I soaked the fruit last Wednesday and was going to make it on Thurs but just never got around to it!

Like Slubber I have an amaretto cake rather than a brandy one this year for the first time. I am an almond fiend. The beauty of making your own apart from all the obvious smells etc is putting your own stamp on it, making it to what you and your family like, and then making the decorations on it very silly. Although I love the idea of a dark blue cake with white trees, sounds wonderful.

We break into ours mid Dec as I find it great to offer to visitors, if there aren't any freshly baked mince pies < rubs floury hands on apron, smugly >

oh yes, I forgot. I make a yule log too on christmas eve. Even the dds like it.

My Delia recipe says soak fruit for a week?? Its the Irish Whiskey cake.

First time Ive ever made one, going to make it next week once fruit has soaked. Had to have a couple of teaspoons of fruit which had been soaked in whisky, felt like Id had a drink afterwards!

I completely agree with all who have commented on delia's booze stinginess. I completely ignored her 3 tablespoons. Pah 3 giant slugs repeated over several days more like.

I've never really liked yule logs. I quite go off chocolate at christmas for some reason, apart from the long golden rectangles in the Quality Street.

I start eating my cake on christmas eve, and always put it with wensleydale after learning the cake/cheese ditty from when I lived in Yorkshire.

Hmm, I wonder why you go off chocoalte at chrsitmas. Maybe it is to do with all that CHRISTMAS CAKE WOT YOU SCOFF!

heh heh

The scoffing is over a long period though, a marathon event rather than a 200m cake gobble.

BudaisintheZONE I'm glad it isn't just me then that never gets round to .

MooMooFarm splosh away you definitely won't have ruined it and 24 hours soaking will be fine.

just a little sliver, just like you'd get at a wedding in a paper napkin, with a thin little of wensleydale on the top plus obligatory cup of tea after a brisk walk

repeat for 6 weeks

heaven

Well mine looks ok. Having burnt 2 I was surprised that today it took forever. Then realised that oven was at 120 rather than 140! Whacked it up to finish. Dinner was late as was waiting for oven!!

Hercule - glad I am not only one either!

Right guys. Now for mincemeat! Am hoping to get that going tomorrow. Have never done it before. Planning on using Mary Berry's recipe.

By the way my recipe has 300ml of whiskey, not 3 tablespoons, had to go and check it to make sure I didnt get it wrong. Glug away I say!

I did Nigella's chocolate christmas cake last year and it was very much worth it- I hate normal christmas cake, very heavy, plus I loathe candied peel/cherries/marzipan/royal icing! Nigella's is very fruity, lots of chopped prunes as well as the usual dried fruit, not as dense and heavy as regular cake. I loved it :)