Christmas Cake..........It's that time.............Who is signing up this year...............

[UCM]

You have a month or so to buy ingredients but this is a copy of what I wrote last year. Please use this thread to tell us of fantastic recipes and to add the general lovliness of anticipation

6oz sultanas
6oz raisins
4oz currants
4oz glacecherries
3oz mixed peel
1/4 pint sherry
6oz butter
6oz soft brown sugar
4 eggs
4oz SR flour
4oz plain flour
pinch salt
1/2 teaspoon mixed spice
1oz ground almonds

Mix together all fruit. pour sherry over and leave to soak for 1 week, covered. Stir frequently until required.

Grease & line a 7 - 8 inch cake tin

Method

Cream butter & sugar until soft & fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time. Fold in flour, salt & ground almonds. Drain off any liquid from the fruit and mix fruit into mixture stirring until well blended. Put into prepared tin, smooth top and bake just below middle of oven for 1 hour on gas mark 3. Then cover with foil and reduce oven to gas mark 2 and cook for a further 1.5 hours until firm to touch. Leave to stand in tin until nearly cold. remove from tin, prick well and pour over liquid from dried fruit. Wrap in foil or greaseproof paper and leave to mature until a few days before christmas, then marzipan & ice.

Tips: I don't like almonds so didn't use em. I also put some chocolate liqueur in with the sherry. also I don't like marzipan so didn't ice, but did make one for a relative which I did ice and it was easy. I have never made a christmas cake before and I have to say this recipe works like a dream.

Well ???????

but it's just wrong I've never had homemade christmas cake with icing - and I'd never had a shop bought one until lasy year!

Cheese? With christmas cake? All sounds a bit Wallace & Grommit
I'm firmly in the icing camp

no came about LONG before Wallace and Gromit were even a twinkle in their maker's eyes

but but but but how can you say that?

Where does the robin sit, if not on a little (iced) snow covered log?

The marzipan baby Jesus et al can't be expected to just sit on a brown cake can they? Where's he regal magesty in that eh?

you need to ice. It's like spending an afternoon getting ready to go out on a big date and leaving without your skirt on.

Chippy it's cake, icing and a slice of wensleydale. All in one heavenly wonderous mouthful. Trust me.

ahh you see - Christmas cakes have no "link" to the Christmas story - therefore there's no need to have baby jesus on the cake

Christmas cake (no icing) and a slice of (the best you can afford) Wensleydale - mmmm heavenly

Well I reckon Melchior under his frankinsence had a large slab of (iced) Christmas cake. Not that it was called Christmas cake though. Was probably called rich moist fruit cake with marzipan and royal icing as foretold by the prophets.

And Balthazar had the wenslydale

WARNING - do not post a picture of your cake iced until you have seen Greensleeves', she will make you weep as she IS a sugarcraft expert and I once saw some cakes she made. They made all the oooompffff go out of me cos they were incredibly professional.

I am not icing my sodding cake I tell ya!

Don't sodding ice the cake then, UCM. You are in very good company, I don't ice my sodding cakes either.

Q0Q - is your cake completely nekkid? Totally unadorned?

\ / Kung Fu Arms at the ready.

Can we make a Christmas cake food thread kick off...he he he

Shall I go and start a splinter thread in AIBU: To expect all Christmas Cakes to be iced?

We could get into 2 cake quiches and have secret "in" jokes and stuff.

I was just attracted by the kung foo arms.

Aaaahhh UCM I'm inspired by your recipe to do what I have been putting off for years - actually make my own christmas cake, ages in advance - and so finally once and for all turn into my mum.

I shall be icing and marzipanning of course - and if I was going to do it the true my mum way, I'd then wrap bright green and red tissue paper round it before the icing was fully set, so that is sticks and everyone is forced to eat it along with the cake.

I used them PD Don't they look good? Have been working up to using them, thought a food thread would be a good place to start (minimal resistance and all).

Will continue to practice in recipes, book club and swap shop.

The biggies are AIBU, breast bottle, occasional health ones and ethical living of course. Am not ready for those yet.

har

I used them oince, slubber. Can't remember what thread now.

My mum makes a cake and no one ever eats that so gawd knows who's going to eat a cake that I make.

yes - my first ever homemade (by me) Christmas Cake will be completely nekkid .

My mum has always made 3/4 cakes and given one to my brother and I - last year she wasn't up to it so my aunty made some extras.....and this year I shall make my own QoQ trembles at the thought of it

I'd like to be in please. But can't do it this week as am in Cornwall on 'oliday. And, has anyone got a pale (as in not one of those dark dark rich fruit cakes) fruit cake recipe they can direct me too please?

Have never never made my own Christmas cake, nor marzipan and certainly never my own Christmas pud, so i'm not holding out for any particular success...

Ummmmmmm I believe I have somewhere will dig it out for you.

Budababe, I can't believe you haven't eaten it yet Mine was only eaten quite recently though

Great thanks. Then I can raise a glass to you and be smug come Christmas time when I produce a beautiful cake and my mother and mil keel over in surprise as I refuse their inferior home made offerings.

If you don't have one I think the domestic goddess does.

This is another 'you can't bugger it up unless you forget it's in the oven' cake. I have made this many times.

I usually make it in a 1lb loaf tin as the recipe calls for a 6 inch round one.

225g SR Flour
100g Butter
100g Caster Sugar
teaspoon grated lemon rind
100 Mixed dried fruits
1 egg
75ml fresh milk

Sift Flour into bowl, rub butter in til it's breadcrumbs.

Add sugar, fruit & lemon rind

Add egg & milk and mix with a metal spoon until evenly combined, sort of batter like.

Pop in oven gas 4/180/350 for 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours. Cocktail stick in centre so see if it's cooked. Leave in tin for 5 mins, then turn onto rack.

It's yellow but lovely and rich at the same time.

I have made in an 8 inch tin, but I would say the cooking time needs to be lessened a bit to maybe 1 hour.

Can be stored in airtight & frozen.

Have also made this using bananas instead of fruit or a bit more lemon rind and 50g coconut. It's not a sponge.

Looks great. Does this mean I miss out on the whole soaking of fruit session though? Presumably you can still do that in this recipe?

Funny I found a picture on my pc of last years effort in the billysitch household today. We do ours Halloween (usually accompanined by a bottle of gin) and it turns out quite eddible, sure this has something to do with the amount of alchol in it tho. Will check out this thread for this years receipe. Thanks.

I would hazard that the sherry, brown sugar in the spices give the christmas cake the darker brown colour, so yes I would soak the fruit but in vodka or something light IYSWIM. It certainly can't harm the cake. What about the Italian one Grappo. If you have a Lidls near you they have lots of clear schnapps, which I truly believe would make a lovely cake.