A Christmas cake is an essential part of our family’s holiday eating – we might not have room for a slice right after dinner on Christmas day, but we work away at it right into January with copious cups of tea!
It is also one of the things I make as presents around Christmas time, either for my own family or if I know of a family who has had a particularly bad year. I just think Christmas time can be so difficult for some people that dropping something off that they might not have time to do themselves, can be pretty helpful.
(Via Bloglovin.com)
I have an old Odlums recipe book belonging to my mum that gets whipped out every year for a really old school, but delicious, and easy-to-make recipe.
Here’s how:
- Mix 16oz mixed fruit (you can get a ready-mixed bag of raisins, currants and sultanas in your local supermarket) with 1/4 glass whiskey overnight
- Cream 8oz (half a block) of butter with 8oz brown sugar until light in colour
- Add six eggs, one at a time until they are well beaten into the mixture
- Sieve 12oz cream flour and fold in
- Add 1/4 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon mixed spice and a pinch of nutmeg – mix well
- Grate the rind of one lemon and extract the juice
- Add lemon rind, juice and 1/4 teaspoon almond essence to the mix
- (All of the above can be done with an electric mixer, and then I would switch to hand mixing for the next few steps!)
- Add whiskey-soaked fruit, 3oz mixed peel and 3oz chopped cherries (also can be bought in your local supermarket)
- Chuck in another 1/4 glass of whiskey for good measure!
(Via sainsburymagazine.co.uk)
How to line the cake tin:
- Set a 9-inch round tin on a sheet of baking paper and trace the shape of the tin on the paper with a pen.
- Cut two circles from the baking paper to match the size of the tin; and a further small hold in the middle of one sheet (this is for the top of the cake)
- Grease the inside of the tin with butter or oil and place one circular sheet at the bottom
- Cut two rectangular pieces of baking paper and run them around the sides of the tin. They may need a little tape in the middle to keep them together, alternatively you can use string to hold it all in place.
- Pour the cake mixture inside, spreading out the top evenly with the back of a spoon
- Chopped almonds can be sprinkled on top if you wish
- Place the second circular sheet of baking paper on top – the idea of the small hole in the centre is that your cake is being kept moist in baking without burning the top
- Bake in a pre-heated oven at 150C for approximately two hours, or until a skewer put in the middle comes out clean
- When baked, cool on a wire rack until cold.
- Keep wrapped in baking sheets and tin foil and it will keep for up to two weeks. Make sure to pop a few holes in the top and ‘feed’ it with the odd capful of whiskey from time to time!
Do you have any recipes to share? Why not send them into [email protected]!