Christmas cake

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,

mum2one

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

mum2one

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.

xx

Anoneemoose

Oh my! These all sound amazing. Thank you everyone. I am spoilt for choice now - will have to try them all .

Kim_kim

JIL wrote: »

There's a great recipe on frugal queens blog today for a boiled fruitcake which has been frugalised. It would make a great Christmas cake.

Any chance of a link to that?

tylersbabe

Kim_kim wrote: »

Any chance of a link to that?

As Requested x

http://www.frugalqueen.co.uk/2014/09/boiled-fruit-cake.html

bubbs

can anyone tell me how i adjust cooking time for xmas cake please, i bought some small tinss approx 5 inches across? thanks

ArthriticOldThing

Hello all.
Can anyone direct me to recipe for gluten-free Christmas cake please?
I've usually bought one but would rather make my own.
Thanks

candlelight_2013

Hi AOT I think you will find Frugal Queen made her fruit cake with gluten free flour, see Tylersbabe link.

Hope that helps

Candlelightx

mum2one

bubbs wrote: »

can anyone tell me how i adjust cooking time for xmas cake please, i bought some small tinss approx 5 inches across? thanks

This is going to sound really daft, but I find that even if I use small tins, (range from baked bean tins, small one portion angel and xmas tree moulds), through to 12in square tin, it still takes the same time xx