If you're not like me (last minute Christmas cookery is a specialty of mine!), and want to make your Christmas cake early, I can recommend this recipe. It is by far my favourite Christmas cake, and terribly addictive once made and tasted. It freezes well.
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| My favourite Christmas cake |
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1
kg mixed fruit (or 250g. chopped Raisins, 125g chopped glace
cherries, 125g
chopped mixed peel, 250g. Sultanas, 250g. Currants)
125g.
chopped blanched almonds
2/3 cup brandy OR orange juice
210g. plain flour
60g. self raising flour
1/4
teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon grated
nutmeg
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon mixed spice
250g butter
250g. light brown sugar
2
tablespoons marmalade OR dark jam,
1
dessertspoon vanilla essence
4 eggs
Optional Topping: see
below.
- Line an 8" round cake tin with two layers foil and two layers greaseproof paper. Mix all the fruits, peel and nuts together and sprinkle with the brandy OR orange juice.
- Sift together the flours, salt and spices.
- Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy then add the jam and vanilla essence and beat again.
- Add the eggs one at a time beating well after each one, then alternately add the fruit and flour mixtures.
- Mix thoroughly.
- Place the mixture in the prepared tin. Topping 1: Decorate top of cake with blanched almonds, or whatever takes your fancy. (I got a bit carried away when I decorated the cake pictured above!)
Topping 2: see step 8 below. - Bake in a slow oven for approximately 3½ hours. Cool in tin.
- Topping 2: The day before you use the cake arrange on top of the cake pieces of your favourite nuts, e.g. walnuts, almonds, pecans - cherries, glace pineapple, ginger, Raisins and Sultanas.
- Make a toffee glaze by boiling together equal quantities sugar, water and sieved apricot jam. Drizzle this over the fruit 'n nut topping and leave to set.
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