Feeding the Christmas cake....with what, how and when?!

[tory79]

This is the first year I am going to be baking s Christmas cake! Planning to do it on nov 25th.

I am following the Mary berry recipe, which uses brandy, but it's not very clear on the feedIng process. How often do you feed a cake, HOW do you feed it and how much brandy would I use each time?

Also, does it matter if it's cheap brandy?!

Thank you!!

Hi, I'm into the third week of feeding. I've made 3 Deliah cakes.

I have a cheap Spanish brandy from Lidl! I keep it for soaking fruit and cooking. It's absolutely fine.

I have used rum and whiskey in the past. Anything to preserve the cake and keep it moist.

I still use the same method from 6th form Home Ec. Poke holes gently with a skewer all around the top of the cake. I use about half a tea cup of brandy and once the holes are made pour tiny amounts into/over them.

I wrap the cake in two sheets of baking paper, and a layer of foil, then pack into a snug cake tin. (side with the alcohol poured on it facing up).

Then the next time I feed, I turn the cake upside-down and feed the other side.

DH offered to bring home a syringe from work, haven't taken him up on that yet. I suppose you could use a small baster!

Sorry not tea cup.....EGG cup.

Tea cup/Egg cup

Of course it's a egg-cup Binfull , of course it is.

Exactly as above.

A cake fed on half a tea cup of brandy a week from now to Christmas would be lethal come the day , haven't people been arrestedd for being over the limit after eating Christmas cake before?

Was it yours Binfull?

Well I did wonder why all the parents were so jolly in the school festival last Christmas...

I feed my cake one shot of brandy (cheapest Spanish brandy, but then I do live here!) once a week, usually Sunday afternoon. Shot for the cake, shot for me
I made it at the end of October, as always, so it should be pretty soused by Christmas Day.

vamos lucky for me I don't like the taste of the neat brandy I'm using in the cake....!!

But that didn't stop me enjoying a good glug of sherry out of the bottle whilst making the chicken gravy today....then noticing two elderly dog walkers stood watching me through the kitchen door!!

Fed on brandy as often as I remember can be faffed to unwrap the bloody things on as much as glugs out on that occasion. Domestic goddess, me.

My cake has just come out of the oven... I'm looking forward to feeding it!

I use Sainsbo's French Brandy. A capful a week, with said holes in cake. Turn it over each week so it gets a feed a different side each time.

I make mine end Oct as we start it mid Dec.

Hmm, never turned mine over in all the years I've been making Christmas cakes. Will try it this year and compare .

I've only just finished baking my cake does
that mean i will need a cupful of brandy from now till Xmas day on ny cake ! Realky sozzled 😂🤣

I am using a recipe for Creole cake which uses a fair amount of booze, I have always used this kind of recipe, however I also feed them by making small holes with a thin skewer on the bottom first, drip a teaspoon or 2 of brandy or whisky over where the holes are and leave wrapped in foil for a few days until it isn't damp, then turn it over and repeat with the top.

I don't ice any more as no-one likes it so it can just sit there and mature for years and years.....

DaysOfCurlySpence God I never feed the wonderful Creole cake, you probably need a breathalyser just sniffing it!

In my nursing days I always used to bring home a syringe and needle and inject my cake. 💉

I'm feeding my Christmas cake with brandy but when I look I dont think I will have enough to last. I do have some whiskey though, do you think it will matter if I use that or is it wrong to mix spirits?

Off to turn my cake - never done that before

Though my DH seems to think the brandy is for him and it’s nearly finished.., will have to get another bottle 🙄

It's not wrong to mix spirits. I made my cake with rum, and it has been fed with Cointreau and apple cider brandy so far. Might give it some bourbon next week.

Thanks, I'll get the whiskey our then!

Has anyone ever used port? I don’t have any brandy....I could buy some but I have port....would it work?

I've used sloe gin before, very fruity. I just drizzle a bit off whatever alcohol I have in over the top when I remember. Seems to work.

I use Grand Marnier on mine - the intense orangeyness is really yummy in the cake. Made mine on Thursday (made the house smell gorgeous!) and will feed it ish weekly. Never turned mine either but will try it this year!

I've made mini ones as gifts but apart from when they first cooled I haven fed them (mad them a week or so ago) I put marzipan on them last night for DD to ice this weekend.

Have I done it all wrong? Should I have waited to ice and fed a bit more?

Eek 😬

My cake is getting a shot of amaretto once a week, smells amazing. I might give it a shot of rum at some point, just for variety.

It'll get marizipan about a week and a half before Christmas and then royal iced about a week before.

Last year I managed to overfeed mine - My mum baked it and gave it to me in October but I didn’t realise she had made it in July and had been feeding it since then... I fed it once a week from October to December and low and behold on Xmas day - a lethal soggy gloop - oops ! However I baked it again on low for a couple of hours and all was saved.