Preparing for Christmas 2011

Gettingtherequickly

sarah2503 wrote: »

Am i too late to make christmas cake and pudding. If not does anyone know of any good recipes? Thanks in advance.

I'm making mine at the weekend! Found a wonderful recipe on line last year ( complete techophobe so no idea how to load link!) www.imaginativeicing.demon.co.uk look for rich fruit cake recipe, and the best part of it is that it lists the ingrediants for a range of tin sizes.

Hope that helps.l

icecreamdogpark

jakesbakescakes wrote: »

I can't really recommend a recipe but i have read about the idea of making mini xmas cakes in baked-beans tins. They look very cute - might be a nice idea for hampers or individual presents. If you google it I'm sure you will find ideas HTH

Last year i did large muffin tray christmas cakes and my little helpers decorated them with roll out icing https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-jHqWH-UQeIQ/TniBFWm02lI/AAAAAAAAB9c/yozJ54kXxBI/s720/SDC14166.JPG

jemtom

very quick post will catch up with the thread tomorrow morning when i get 5mins, done my sons space hamper:


and my cousind make up hamper, although not much of a hamper size, as the basket was far too big so used a shoe box and covered it with some wallpaper i had left over from my room:

hope everyone is getting on well with theirs

Jd1983

2 brillantly christmassy things happened to me today:

1 - noticed the boots website has their christmas stuff on (can't be long til the gift guide comes out)!

2 - the first box of mince pies are in the house!!! Will they make it to Christmas? They won't even make to the weekend!!!

jakesbakescakes

jemtom your hampers look lovely well done x x x

Mrs_Ryan

Love the hampers! thanks for the suggestions - had a brainwave. Going to buy her a purse and a nice pair of gloves plus some smellies.

mum2one

Some tried and tested Christmas Cake recipies

BE-RO CHRISTMAS CAKE

350G / 12oz self raising flour
1 x 5ml (teaspoon) mixed spice
100g (4oz) ground almonds
4 medium eggs
150ml (1/4 pint) milk or half milk, half brandy
225g /8oz butter
225g / 8oz caster sugar
225g / 8oz currants
225g / 8oz sultanas
100g / 4oz glace cherries (halved)
100g / 4oz xut mixed peel

(for the fruit (bar cherries) and peel can used pre-mixed fruit bags

150C / 300F / gas 2
9in round or 8in square tin - greased and lined with baking paper

Method

1. pre-heat over to Gas 2

2. Sieve together flour, spice, ground almonds

3. beat eggs with milk

4. cream butter and sugar, stir in the flour mixture and egg mixture alternatively, a little at a time.

5. Add fruit

6. Mix throughly

7. place mixture in prepared tin and protect with brown paper, (fasten a band of doubled brown paper round the tin, allowing it to be 3in higher than the tin

8. After apr 3 hrs of cooking, cover the cake with paper or foil (this prevents it from burning.

Allow apr 4 hrs of cooking, checking the cake, so once you can put a knotting needle, of knife into the cake and it comes out clean.

xx

mum2one

Another Christmas cake - this is tried and tested, absolutely gorgeous, and can be made 8 weeks in advance
The main difference the fruit is soaked overnight, keeps the cake moist.

Traditional Xmas Cake -

Makes 1 round 23cm cake or 1 square 23cm cake

Ingredients

1/2 kilo mixed fruit
1/2 kilo sultanas
1/2 kilo currants
250g glace cherries
200ml rum,brandy or sherry
290g plain flour
2 tsp ground mixed spice
225g butter
225g soft brown sugar
5 large eggs
zest of 1 med orange
zest of 1 lemon
150g ground almonds.

Utensils etc
Large mixing bowl
string
baking paper
deep 23 cm cake tin / square or round depending on shape.

Method.

1. Put all the dried fruit (bar cherries), in a large mixing bowl, add liquor, (you can use orange juice instead).

2. Cover with clingfilm, leave for 24 hrs stirring ocassionally.

3. Line the tin with 3 layers of baking paper, wrap outsides with double layer, of brown paper. Preheat over to Gas 2, 150C or 130C if fan oven.

4. Rinse the cherries in warm water, pat dry with kitchen paper. Cut each one in half,

5. Sift the flour and mixed spice together, (use seperate bowl),

6. Cream butter and sugar together, beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and adding a tablespoon of flour mix with each one.

7. Finely grate the zest of the orange + lemon, stir into the creamed mixture.

8. Stir in the rest of the flour mix, ground almonds, cherries and the dried fruit + alcohol mix. Mix well.

9. Put mixture into desired tin, pat top with damp fingertips.

10. Bake for 1 hour, reduce oven temperature to 140C / 120C (fan oven), gas 1 and bake for a further 3 hours or until a skewer in centre comes out clean.

Can cover tops with foil if browning too quickly.

11. Remove cake from cake tins, and cool completely on a rack, (leave baking paper on)

12. wrap in foil and store in a tin,

13. after a week, unwrap and pierce with a skewer, drizzle over 2 tablepsoons liquor,, wrap and store.

14. Repeat twice over 2 more weeks.

digressing slightly......
but the square cake is ideal to use as presents/ in hamper, as cut the cake into half, then half the other way, (leaving 4 quaters), and can be iced and rewrapped up.

xx

mum2one

Alternative to a tradational Christmas cake - lighter base, and is made with different fruits. Can be made about 4 weeks in advance.

Fruity Christmas Cake.

Ingredients
200g glace cherries
225g plain flour
1 1/2tsp ground mixed spice
150g ground almonds
175g butter
175g light soft brown sugar
4 large eggs
grated zest 1 orange, + 1 unwaxed lemon
6 tbsp rum,brandy,or sherry. (or Orange Juice - non alcohol version)
1kg tropical dried fruit mix**

Method
1.Line a 23cm deep round cake tin or a 20cm square tin with 3 layers of baking paper

2.Wrap the outside with more paper,tie with string. Preheat the oven, 150C/130C (fan oven) /Gas 2.

3.Rinse the glace cherries, with hot water,cut into quarters and pat dry with kitchen roll.

4.Sift the flour and mixed spice together,add the ground almonds, and set aside.

5.Cream the butter and sugar together in a large bowl.

6. Then beat in the eggs one at a time,beating well between each addition, add a tablespoon of the flower mix with each egg.

7. Stir in the remainding flour mix, followed by the orange + lemon zest, cherries,dried tropical fruit, and alcohol or orange juice.

8.Put the mixture in the choosen tin,and make a shallow depression in the centre.

9.Bake for 1 hour, then reduce oven temp to 140C / 120C (fan oven) / Gas 1 and cook for another 2 1/2 to3 hrs, but after the cake has been cooking for 2 hrs, place a piece of cooking foil on the top to prevent it from browning.

10.Remove from the tin, and cool on a rack,- dont peel off the baking paper.

11. When totally cold wrap in cling film or foil and store in an airtight container.

tip - to test if it is cooked, insert a skewer (or clean knitting needle),in the centre of the cake, if it comes out clean its cooked, if its sticky cook for a bit longer.

Next stage - if your using alcohol.

1.After a week, !!!!! the cake with a fine skewer (or knitting needle), and spoon or brush over 2 tablespoons of the alcohol that u put in the recipie.

2.Continue to do this every week or two, until a week before you decorate.

**- re tropical dried fruit mix.

If you have a weigh and save shop, buy the mix lose from there, if not go to Asda, and purchase 4 x 250g bags Asda Tropical Fruit Mix

mum2one

I call this the emergency Christmas cake, its as gorgeous, but gets made a week before xmas.

A festive cake,but without the heaviness of a Christmas Cake.

Apricot, almond and cranberry cake.

Ingredients-

Decorations-
2 tablespoons caster sugar
2 tablespoons orange juice

For the cake-
175g (6oz) butter
175g (6oz) caster sugar
4 eggs
300g (10oz) self-raising flour
100g ( 3 1/2oz) cranberries
200g (7oz) ready to eat apricots - need to be chopped
50g (2oz) ground almonds
grated zest 1 orange

Method

1.Preheat oven to Gas 3, 160C, line and grease a 1kg/2lb loaf tin.

2. cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy

3. Gradually beat in the eggs, adding a small amount of flour with each egg.

4. Stir in the remaining flour with cranberries, apricots, almonds, and orange zest.

5.Spoon into the tin, and bake for 1 1/2hrs until golden,risen and firm to the touch.

6. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before removing from tin.

7. To decorate, put the 2 tablespoons orange juice + sugar in a pan and boil for 2 minutes until syrupy, stir well then drizzle over the cake.

The cake will keep for a week.

xx