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 Sharyn.Hayden@HerFamily.ie! 
