Recipe for Christmas Cake

Lakshmi7

Warm 6 tbsps brandy (or 3 tbsps brandy with 3 tbsps cherry brandy), 3tbsps dark rum, 1/2 tsp angustorus bitters and 3 tbsps water gently. Cool. Marinate 8oz currants, 8oz sultanas, 8oz raisins, 2 oz glace cherries (chopped) and 2 oz flaked almonds in this liquid for 7 days in an airtight container.

Soften 9oz butter in a food mixer. Cream the butter with 9oz demerara sugar, 9oz flour and 5 eggs.

Stir in the fruit mixture into the butter mixture. Will require some effort!!

Bake GM1 for 45 minutes.

Leave to cool. Wrap in greaseproof paper and leave in an airtight tin for about a week to a month before Christmas.

Perfect!!:j

susank

I had a glut of our hen free range eggs last weekend and cleaned out a cupboard too and discovered loads of flour, dried fruit and some luxury in brandy and nuts etc and so bought the only ingredient I needed to buy which was cherries and made 2 lovely 8" square xmas cakes - I will feed them both with brandy and freeze one for next year for some occasion or other or next xmas - good use of a wet day, dry ingredients and loads of eggs! They keep for years if wrapped up and kept moist with the brandy

sillyvixen

Skint_Catt wrote: »

Might make two and give one as a gift!

this reminds me i have a christmas cake in my mums freezer that i got as a gift last christmas (my freezer is only small and was full mum has 2 big freezers). i am assuming it will be ok for this christmas - let me know if not!!

Firehorse

Thanks Pink will go and have a look now.

All the best

morganlefay

I have made Delia's Creole cake for many years now (no marzipan, VERY moist and boozy, so not one for pregnant ladies). Every year I make it and wrap in 2 layers of greaseproof and then two of foil (no need to feed it as the fruit is soaked in a highly alcoholic mix to start with). Last year when I got it down from the extremely high shelf it had been on in the garage (about 8ft) I found on unwrapping it that a mouse or a wgole family of them had been enjoying it and chewed off about a quarter of a corner, and then apparently turned the hole into a nest. Yeuch. be careful where you store your cake if you make it early !!!!

La-Cara

I couldn't hold off any longer, so I started making the christmas cakes today! Weighed out the fruit and it's now plumping up in sherry, hopefully have them finished by midweek. I know it's only August but I don't think it's ever too early! (cos I'm excited for Christmas already!!)

moo2moo

Has anyone come across affordably priced cherries yet? Asda et. al. only seem to stock the very small pots at the moment which work out very expensive when making multiple cakes. I know nearer to christmas they usually sell 1kg tubs I just haven't found any yet.

La-Cara

according to their website, Julian Graves sell half kilo tubs of whole and broken cherries for £1.99, and whole cherries for £2.95.

trying-very-trying

I found an old Tesco xmas cake mix in the cupboard on Wednesday, it had been reduced as I bought it after xmas. I thought I would give it a go. I had no alcohol in the house, so used a tip from the all bran cake recipe on this forum, I soaked the dried fruit overnight in some tea, then followed the instructions on the back of the box, added a teaspoon and a half of fresh baking soda to the flour and baked for 2+1/2 hrs. It's almost finished eating now, and was much enjoyed by fussy husband, my parents, and fully informed neighbours:rotfl:.
Oh, yes I forgot to mention, the bbd was June 2000!:j

2cats1kid

I do a lighter coloured Christmas cake, because I don't much like dark fruit cake and if I make it, I'm jolly well going to eat it! It has dried apples and pears in instead of some of the raisins and sultanas, and is very moist and very yummy!