Christmas Cake & Individual Cakes (merged)

Odette

As part of a 'nice and christmassy food' basket thing for my grandparents, as well as a gift for my friends and boyfriends families, I want to make a kick !!! christmas cake.
I have lots of tins and lots of time but I would love your recipies for such a thing rather than picking one randomly online (although i did see a carribean one with pineapple...mmm) or any other ideas for a cake that gets better (maybe more alcoholic!) with time

brookeslay

Christmas cake

Gather together the fruits and soak in alcohol as directed in the method before making the cake.
10 oz currants
6 oz sultanas
3 oz raisins
3 oz dark natural glace cherries
3oz mixed chopped peel - Cut your own or use ready cut
Grated rind of 1 lemon
Grated rind of 1 orange
2 tablespoons of whisky, brandy, rum or sherry
4 eggs - room temperature
6 oz butter - room temperature
6 oz soft brown sugar (or caster sugar if you have none)
3 ½ oz of self raising flour (use all plain if you have no SR flour, this cake is not intended to rise, but be level.)
3 ½ oz of plain flour
2 oz ground almonds
1½ teaspoons of mixed spice (this should contain cloves, cinnamon etc)
1 tablespoon golden syrup
2oz walnuts or blanched almonds chopped.
2 oz chopped dried apricots

The quantities in this fruit cake recipe must be baked in a deep Round 8 inch tin or Square 7 inch tin.

Prepare these things first.

1. Before you mix up the cake, SOAK the dried fruit and the halved cherries in the alcohol for about 4-8 hours before using it and also remove your 6oz butter and 4 eggs from the fridge to bring them to room temperature about 2 hours before cake making begins. You can put all the fruit in a screw top jar and shake it every day for about a week or two. The soaking helps plump and hydrate the fruit.
2. Heat oven to 140 degrees Celsius or Gas mark 1 or 275 degrees Fahrenheit
3. Butter your tin type and double line it and butter it again with 2 circles of greaseproof paper and an inner band of paper.
4. Outside the tin add a double band of brown paper that rises 2 inches or so above the tin. Tie with string.
5. Place the tin ready on a flat pizza or other baking sheet – this helps in removing it from the oven

leave to cool then double wrap and feed which according to Bettys means brushing with alcohol on a pastry brush. As I did a course with them last year.

floyd

There is a huge fanclub on the Old Style board for the Delia traditional recipe http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/the-classic-christmas-cake,1293,RC.html I made one for the first time this year and it smells beautiful

angbrads

I use Delias recipe and have done for years now, it's always gone down well. I've 8 mini cakes maturing for teachers xmas pressies. I used the 'boil in the tin' cake tins. you know the ones i mean, asdas own brand are 39p each. i bought 4, opened the tin, took out the cake and washed the tin... perfect for little mini cakes!
Delia also does a caribean cake too, check out here website or goodfood website.

pigpen

ooooh.. *nick*.... thanks brookeslay

Saint_Chris

in the past i have bought a square one from tesco, just a basic cake

cut it into quarters,

and then i've given it a sip of brandy each day, makes it real nice and moist

and then decorated each cake, and given as a present.

kiwifruit_2

heres one I make.....you can adapt it with different fruits to your taste. Its light and also makes a nice fruit cake for anytime of the year......
CHRISTMAS CAKE RECIPE
ONE 8’ CAKE.
Tin Condensed Milk
125g Butter
2 Tblspn Golden Syrup
4 Well Beaten Eggs
½ tsp Vanilla or Orange or Lemon or Almond Essences
350g Flour
1 KG Fruit
½ tsp Baking Soda
½ Cup Milk
Melt Condensed Milk, Butter & Golden syrup in a pan then
add well Beaten eggs and essences. Add the flour & fruit together and then add to the wet mixture.
Dissolve soda in the milk, add to the other ingredients.
Put in oiled and floured tin and bake at 150o (GM 2 or 3) for 2 Hours or until skewer comes out clean.

PurpleSkies

I'm not really a big brandy drinker so don't want to buy a bottle just for putting in Christmas cake. Are there any other types of alcohol that would work well as an alternative?

SandC

angbrads wrote: »

I use Delias recipe and have done for years now, it's always gone down well. I've 8 mini cakes maturing for teachers xmas pressies. I used the 'boil in the tin' cake tins. you know the ones i mean, asdas own brand are 39p each. i bought 4, opened the tin, took out the cake and washed the tin... perfect for little mini cakes!
Delia also does a caribean cake too, check out here website or goodfood website.

That's a very kind thing to do - lucky teachers!

minimacka

angbrads wrote: »

I use Delias recipe and have done for years now, it's always gone down well. I've 8 mini cakes maturing for teachers xmas pressies. I used the 'boil in the tin' cake tins. you know the ones i mean, asdas own brand are 39p each. i bought 4, opened the tin, took out the cake and washed the tin... perfect for little mini cakes!
Delia also does a caribean cake too, check out here website or goodfood website.

Im so glad the I read your post because I had read last year that someone had done smaller xmas cakes in a little tin and i couldnt remember if you had to use a special recipe or not. Ive never made xmas cakes before but would love to make some for pressies, do you fill the tin right to the top? and does 1 of delias mixes make 8 cakes? also how long do you cook the cakes for?
Sorry for all the questions.
thank you.
sally

brookeslay

Happy "mini " christmas !!!!

http://uktv.co.uk/food/recipe/aid/579055

for 10 mini cakes half ingredients if you want to make 5.

mini mince pies

http://www.goodtoknow.co.uk/food/143191/Mini-star-mince-pies


i also did a link for a mini pudding recipe on my xmas pudding tin thread.



lastly mini stollen

http://www.waitrose.com/recipe/Individual_stollen.aspx



Happy baking

b:D