Quidsys christmas cake

quidsy

A while back in one of the christmas threads someone asked me to post when I did my cake. So here it is

Recipe:
300g plain flour
300g soft brown sugar
300g sofy butter
1kg mixed currants raisins and sultanas
110g mixed peel
165g glacier cherries
Pinch of salt
Tsp mixed spice
Tsp cinnamon
Tsp nutmeg
Zest of half a lemon
6 large eggs lightly beaten
Booze =brandy, rum, amaretto your choice

Prepreparation,
1 to 4weeks before baking place all dried fruit in a large tuppaware and pour in quarter bottle of the booze. Seal the tuppaware and place in a dark place to soak.

On day of baking take the soaked fruit, mix in cherries, mixed peel salt, spices, flour and mix well in a large bowl.
In another large bowl cream sugar and butter until fluffy then add lemon zest. Next slowly mix in the beaten egg.
Fold in the fruit and flour mix half at a time, I use bread claws with my hand mixer at this stage, it seems to mix the batter really well.

Pre heat the oven to 300/150 or gas mark 2

Take a large baking tin and double line it with baking paper, parchment or greasproof paper. Next tie around the tin using baking string a 2 thickness band of newpaper, this stops the cake burning and is well worth doing if a bit fiddly.

On a baking tray place 2 layers of newpaper or brown paper, place baking tin on it then pour in mix, make sure tgere are no gaps an leave a dip in the middle as this will rise, making the cake level, then put in the oven for 4.5hrs, after this time test if the cake is cooked using a toothpick, if not carry on cooking and check every 10 to 15 mins, cool in the tin on a wire rack for an hour then removed from tin.

Place in a baking paper lined airtight tin, use a toothpick to pr1ck all over the cake and feed with 2 or 3 tbsp of booze and repead feeding every couple weeks unti, time to ice a week or so before christmas.

quidsy

I will try to upload photo's, seems very hard!

quidsy

quidsy

URL=http://s160.photobucket.com/user/becclj/media/20130826_152503-1.jpg.html][/URL]

Money_maker

Can just smell it...yum!

quidsy

:xmastree: Oh my, the house smells like christmas, just took the little bread tin one out of the oven and it is perfect. This one will be fed spareingly as it's for mum and last years one had too much booze for her liking. The bigun will stay in for another hour or so. I love love love the smell of nutmeg, cinnamon and mixed spice

nitnurse-not2

Hi there,
I am just about to make a cake for my best friends parents.
However, as he is a recovering alcoholic....40+ years dry:j:j:j:jI will be soaking the fruit in cold black tea and orange juice.
Hope this will help anyone who would like to do a cake but doesn't want alcohol in.:D
Mine, on the other hand , will be swimming in alcohol:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

When the snowman brings the snow.........
xxx

Florenceem

nitnurse-not2 wrote: »

Hi there,
I am just about to make a cake for my best friends parents.
However, as he is a recovering alcoholic....40+ years dry:j:j:j:jI will be soaking the fruit in cold black tea and orange juice.
Hope this will help anyone who would like to do a cake but doesn't want alcohol in.:D
Mine, on the other hand , will be swimming in alcohol:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

When the snowman brings the snow.........
xxx

Great idea - thanks plus more economical.

pavlovs_dog

i wish this laptop had smellyvision D There is no nicer smell than a Christmas cake cooking.

starlight29

Now youve made me want to make mine lol ! I love christmas cake smell im going to make mine this weekend ive decided now
Fab cake by the way

Starlight

mum2one

Ingredients - standard Christmas cake

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,





Alternative to Christmas Cake

IRISH PORTER CAKE


8IN CAKE

225G / 8OZ BUTTER
175G / 6OZ BROWN SUGAR
300ML / 8OZ SULTANAS
300ML / 1/2PT STOUT
ZEST 1 ORANGE
175G / 6OZ RAISINS
50G / 2OZ CHOPPED MIX PEEL
450G / 1LB PLAIN FLOUR
1 LEVEL TSP BAKING POWDER
1 LEVEL TSP GROUND CINNAMON
1TSP FRESHLY GRATED NUTMEG
100G / 4OZ CHERRIES
3 EGGS BEATEN

PLACE BUTTER + SUGAR IN PAN WITH THE STOUT AND MELT OVER GENTLE HEAT TP COMBINE

ADD ORANGE ZEST,SULTANAS, RAISINS. + MIXED PEEL

BRING TO THE BOIL FOR 3 MINS

REMOVE FROM HEAT AND COOL SLIGHTLY

SIFT FLOUR, BAKING POWDER, CINNAMON AND NUTMEG INTO A BOWL ADD FRUIT MIX

STIR IN CHERRIES

GRADUALLY ADD EGGS – STIRRING WELL

LINE THE BASE OF A BUTTERED LOOSE BOTTOMED 20CM /8IN CAKE TIN WITH GREASEPROOF PAPER

SPOON MIXTURE IN, SMOTHERING OVER THE TOP

BAKE IN APREHEATED OVEN GAS 4, 350F, 180C FOR AROUND 1 1/2HRS OR UNTIL INSERTED SKEWER COMES OUT CLEAN

ALL THE ALCOHOL IS LOST DURING THE BAKING PROCESS, RICH TASTEING CAKE – LIGHTER ALTERNATIVE TO CHRISTMAS CAKE

RECOMMENDED LEAVE IN A TIN FOR A WEEK BEFORE EATING

---

A festive cake,but without the heaviness of a ChristmasCake.

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.

---

Fruity ChristmasCake.

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.

All tried and tested - with the tropical one previously added papaya, pineapple, cranberries, xx