Christmas cake for 2021

Recipes, Cooking tips and maybe some 'Home Made' secrets !
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Spreckly
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Christmas cake for 2021

Post by Spreckly »

As the cake I bought from As....a was overdone with cinammon, I shall be making my own this year, something I have always done. The deadline was the October half term school holiday. However, I am already buying the dried fruit, and want to make it much earlier.

Can any Laner tell me how soon I could make the cake so that it would not go mouldy or anything, please.
Gwenoakes
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Re: Christmas cake for 2021

Post by Gwenoakes »

I would ask Mo, Spreckly as she has already made hers.
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Mo
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Re: Christmas cake for 2021

Post by Mo »

Gwenoakes wrote: 03 Jan 2021, 17:14 I would ask Mo, Spreckly as she has already made hers.
And eaten a good part of it!

I suppose it depends on the recipe how long it keeps. I think the cake OH's grandmother gave us one time was over a year old, and there is a thread here mentioning cakes 3 yr old, wedding cake top tiers being kept for the Christening yrs later etc. It suggests not putting marzipan on too soon.
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Freeranger
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Re: Christmas cake for 2021

Post by Freeranger »

My Mum would do hers anything up to about six months in advance, and she'd wrap it in foil then once a month or so would prick the base and pour alcohol (usually brandy or whisky) over. About two moths in advance she'd put on the marzipan, then after a fortnight or so apply royal icing - by christmas you could break your teeth on it, but I've ever tasted any so good!
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Re: Christmas cake for 2021

Post by Freeranger »

It was the icing that was hard, not the cake!
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Re: Christmas cake for 2021

Post by Freeranger »

It was the icing that was hard, nt the cake!
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Re: Christmas cake for 2021

Post by fabindia »

Freeranger wrote: 03 Jan 2021, 23:47 My Mum would do hers anything up to about six months in advance, and she'd wrap it in foil then once a month or so would prick the base and pour alcohol (usually brandy or whisky) over. About two moths in advance she'd put on the marzipan, then after a fortnight or so apply royal icing - by christmas you could break your teeth on it, but I've ever tasted any so good!
That sounds wonderful. Many years ago, when I was at home with mom and dad, we had a friend, an old lady from the West Indies who made cakes something like you describe. Full of fruit and rum :-D
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Spreckly
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Re: Christmas cake for 2021

Post by Spreckly »

My cake is an aunt's recipe, and called a pound cake ie a pound of sultanas, currants and raisins. I add glace cherries. It takes eight eggs, a pound of butter, etc., etc. For my cake I will halve or third the quantities, as the original recipe made two cakes, one for Christmas and one for my husband's birthday at the end of this month.

Thank you for the link Mo, will now have a look at it.
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Re: Christmas cake for 2021

Post by Spreckly »

My reply seems to have disappeared, so here goes again. Thank you for all your comments, and the link Mo, which I have read.

My cake was my aunt's recipe, and called a pound cake. Pound of all the dried fruit, eight eggs, a pound of butter, soft brown sugar, glace cherries, etc., rum or brandy, and a hole hollowed out in the middle, so that the cake could rise evenly (in theory).

I made my own almond paste, which I put on about two weeks before Christmas, and in later years stopped making royal icing, but just made really stiff water icing, using a fork to make a snow scene.

A friend made our wedding cake as her present to us. We married in July, and saved a tier for our first Christmas, which we celebrated with all the single male relatives in the family. The cake was rancid, I think because the icing was still on. It was so very disappointing.
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Mo
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Re: Christmas cake for 2021

Post by Mo »

My father used to make his own marzipan. I soon discovered how much easier ready made was. But I never thought ready-made icing tasted the same as Royal (with real egg-whites). The there was the Salmonella scare, so I just use water icing now (with a dash of lemon juice of course)

I did use ready rolled for my daughter's wedding cake as we were sending bits to elderly relatives and I didn't want to poison them - plus it was easier to get a good finish.
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Freeranger
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Re: Christmas cake for 2021

Post by Freeranger »

My cake was my aunt's recipe, and called a pound cake.
I was going to ask you for your recipe as I've lost my Mum's and she isn't able any more to pass it on. Your aunt's sounds very, very similar. Can you remember how much sugar it takes? I think my Mum used to use treacle instead of sugar, but it is a straight substitution. She also used to soak the fruit in cold tea for 24 hours first.
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Spreckly
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Re: Christmas cake for 2021

Post by Spreckly »

Here is the recipe Freeranger:

One pound currants, sultanas and raisins
Half a pound of candied peel - I substitute glace cherries
Two ounces of ground almonds
One pound of butter
One pound brown sugar
One pound flour
One teaspoon mixed spice ( leave this out)
Pinch of salt
Eight eggs
Grated rind of lemon
Tablespoon golden syrup
Brandy or sherry

Grease 10" cake tin. line with double thickness.
Tie round outside of tin with folded newspaper

Cream butter.
sift flour and salt, add to creamed mixture
Alternately add beaten eggs
Add fruit, peel or cherries, ground almond, syrup and brandy

Turn mixture into prepared tin.
Make a hole in centre using wooden spoon
Bake towards bottom of oven at 300 degrees fahrenheit for fife to five and a half hours.

During baking, place a piece of greaseproof paper with small hole in centre over tin.

Test with knitting needle, leave to cool in tin.

The first time I made this cake, I found the temperature too high.

Also I put mixture into two tins, a larger size for my husband's birthday, and a smaller size for the Christmas cake.

Hope this makes sense and it works out Freeranger!
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Re: Christmas cake for 2021

Post by Freeranger »

Thanks so much, Spreckly. I think I'd remembered it wrong and she swapped the treacle for the golden syrup as she partly liked the darker colour it goes.
My Auntie Ada also gave me recipes for plum bread and other things that I've mislaid across house moves. So sad to lose family heritage like that, but you've just given me back some lovely memories. Thank you again.
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Re: Christmas cake for 2021

Post by Freeranger »

Did you move the temperature down from 300 degrees or is that the lower temp you settled on? (afterthought)
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Re: Christmas cake for 2021

Post by Mo »

Different ovens need different settings. Mine is gas and I know when I got a new one I had to lower my gas mark 2 to 1.5 (better insulation ?).
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