3tbs (1\2 cup) rum, brandy whisky or, if you don’t want to add alcohol, the juice of one orange.
10oz plain flour (all purpose)
1\2 tsp nutmeg (try to use fresh)
1\2 tsp cinnamon
1\8 tsp allspice
1\4 Tsp ginger
4oz (1\2 cup) cherries
2oz (1\2 Cup) ground almonds
8oz (2 cups) Muscovado sugar
8oz (2 sticks) butter
6 jumbo eggs
1tbs treacle (molasses)
Juice and zest of an orange
You can add candied peel or angelica if wished but we don’t. Substitute an equal weight of the candied peel or angelica for the weight of the fruit in the recipe.
Well here we go, isn’t this exciting? I love this time of year; you know that summer is nearly over and Christmas is just around the corner. For all the people that don’t like Christmas it’s a shame. But we do. I must admit though I’ve never made Christmas cakes in Shorts and 80°F (27°C) temperature, so to get into the atmosphere I’ve turned up the air conditioning. You don’t get many houses with air conditioning in England so be prepared if going there. But by the end of August you certainly will know that winter is coming and you will feel like making Christmas Cakes just to keep warm.
Well, here we go
The night before you’re going to make your Christmas cake weigh all the fruit into a large bowl. Add the 3tbs (1\2 cup) rum, brandy, whisky or, if you are not using alcohol, squeeze your orange juice over the top. Mix well and cover with cling film (plastic wrap). I always think that it’s a good idea to weigh out and sift into another bowl your flour and spices. Cover with a clean tea towel (dish cloth), leave your eggs, treacle (molasses) cherries, butter, almonds and sugar on the work top (counter). Speaking of almonds, my children don’t like chunks of nut in their cakes and this is why I ground them. You can leave them whole or chop them to your liking, I always buy whole ones and grind them myself in a coffee grinder or herb grinder, then you can get them to your own liking. At this point I also line my cake tin (9-inch diameter if you have one that size) with 2 layers of grease proof paper or silicon wax. I stick it to the cake tin with olive oil spread around with a pastry brush. So that’s the night before.
Next day get the children of to school and start to make your cake. First I, oh yes, first I put the cat out. Our cat adores butter and if I am cooking with butter she is always trying to jump on to the work bench (counter) which isn’t too hygienic, is it. At this point, I know this sounds soppy, but I put on a Christmas tape just to get into the spirit of things. Well you do if you get into the liqueur bottle. Now its time to create. Start by creaming your butter and sugar. This takes a good 5 minutes with a hand beater (electric). Don’t scrimp on this part it has to be really light and creamy Half way through take a spatula and stir it all into the middle of the bowl then re-whip some more. When really light add your beaten eggs a little at a time. If you wish do what I do and add about 1 dsp of flour out of your weighed out amount and keep adding the eggs and flour until all the eggs are added. Don’t worry if it looks a little curdled, it will be all right. Then add the rest of your flour but don’t beat this in. It needs to be stirred in so very carefully so that you don’t knock any of the air out. When done squeeze the orange juice into the fruit and add the zest. Give a good stir, add to the cake mix about a 1/4 at a time so all your fruit gets coated well. Add cherries, treacle (molasses)and almonds. Stir well but gently. I do a sort of figure 8 motion so as to mix gently. By now this should smell delicious. It should look smooth and have a thick, dropping consistency. Now just go down the list and tick off everything so that you know that you have added everything and nothing is missed. Spoon the mixture into your cake, tin smooth over until flat then get the back of your spoon and make a dint into the middle of your cake so that when it does rise a little it will be level (hopefully). If you’re going to ice your cake it doesn’t matter too much. Wrap a piece of brown paper on the out side off your cake tin so that the top of the paper is about 4 inches above the top of the tin and tie it on. This is so it won’t burn the top of the cake. Also place two layers of grease proof paper on the top of your cake to protect it. Put it in the oven for 5 hours on 200°F. After 5 hours look to see. Just press a little – if it springs back try a skewer through the middle. If it comes out dry its done. Turn the cake out on to a wire rack, you have to be so careful as its delicate and also heavy. Peel off all the paper and leave to cool. When cold spoon over some more of the liquor that you have used. Wrap tightly in two layers of grease proof paper then two layers of cling film (plastic wrap) then two layers of tin foil (aluminum foil). I then stick a label on to tell me what liquor I have used, also the date so that I know when to baste again. I baste my cakes at least every two weeks up to almond paste and icing them. approximately two weeks before Christmas. As you can now see anyone can make a Christmas cake. If I can do it you can. I really hope that you enjoy it and maybe next year try to make them as I do for family and friends.
You can also let your cat back in, He/she must be frozen if in England by now.
cinders54 