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Stir Up Sunday

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  • CapricornLass
    CapricornLass Posts: 789 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Name Dropper Debt-free and Proud!
    edited 28 November 2024 at 11:00PM
    Ah, now I like Delia's recipe, Sarahspangles.  I'm allergic to nuts, and making mincemeat myself means I can control what is in it.  I think it has to be tried to see if its right for you. Its easy enough to do, although you need to be patient.   I also use vegetable suet as I can get that gluten free. 

    Apparently there is a war-time recipe that uses butter instead of suet (suet was part of the meat ration) for making mincemeat.  I've not tried it and I'm not sure how it will keep, though.

    I've made both my Christmas pudding and my Christmas cake a couple of months ago.  I've won't be marzipaning it.  I won't be icing it either.  I used to - until I realised all I was doing was peeling the icing off and throwing it away before I ate the slice of cake!  Incidentally, I've cooked the pudding both using the bain marie method in the oven and in the slow cooker, and both methods work well.
    Sealed Pot Challenge no 035.
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  • Cherryfudge
    Cherryfudge Posts: 13,119 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    I've not made the mincemeat yet and the three puddings are cluttering up the counter till I work out how to store them.

    @Sarahspangles, I love your description of your husband wanting the cakes! I made a mini one too, and wrapped and froze it, which I had recommended to me as a way of maturing fruit cake rapidly.

    We don't ice our Christmas cake either - I used to, till I realised the cake was the treat and the icing was sickly and surplus calories. Besides, rich fruit cake and Wensleydale cheese is wonderful.
    I think a bit of sunshine is good for frugal living. (Cranky40)
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  • Oh yes, yum yum, Cherryfudge.  Only people look at me as if I'm barking when I do this down south,  They don't know what they are missing!
    Sealed Pot Challenge no 035.
    Fashion on the Ration - 24.5/66 ( 5 - shoes, 1.5 - bra, 11.5 - 2 pairs of shoes and another bra, 5- t-shirt, 1.5 yet another bra!)
  • sarah1972
    sarah1972 Posts: 19,392 Senior Ambassador
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Homepage Hero Photogenic
    Oh yes, yum yum, Cherryfudge.  Only people look at me as if I'm barking when I do this down south,  They don't know what they are missing!
    Really? I’m a southerner born and bred and I love Christmas pudding and cake with cheese. (not Wensleydale though, a nice extra mature cheddar)
    I’m a Senior Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on Competitions Time, Shopping & Freebies boards, Employment, Jobseeking & Training boards If you need any help on these boards, do let me know. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any posts you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button, or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com. All views are my own and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.
  • In my opinion the best topping for a cake is more cake. I've never tried Wensleydale but will try it out this year. 




  • Nelliegrace
    Nelliegrace Posts: 1,046 Forumite
    Seventh Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    edited 2 December 2024 at 12:47AM
    I am a bit late because I had a fall  trip over a pallet in Asda which left me very sore. I bought a small Christmas cake at the Women’s Institute Day, as a back-up, but I shall give it to DD.
    The fruit is soaking in brandy, and I have the ingredients to make Delia’s Rich Fruit Cake. I like the marzipan, one year I served a small slice of it with the cake, as I was too busy to decorate it. 

    I have cooked Christmas puddings in the pressure cooker in the past. One bowl stood on the trivet and has the metal “basket” on top to stand the second bowl on. They just fitted. 
  • Cherryfudge
    Cherryfudge Posts: 13,119 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Matty246 said:
    In my opinion the best topping for a cake is more cake. 
     :smile:

    Lots of Wensleydale is sold with fruit in - cranberries are popular, for instance. However, there are purists who say Hawes Wensleydale is the way to go. James Herriot said 'the mixture, chewed boldly together, is exquisite'. I have no idea why I remembered that from long ago before I lived so close to where he lived and not so far from Wensleydale, either.  :)

    @Nelliegrace, I hope you've recovered from being attacked by the pallet. I didn't think of stacking the puds in the pressure cooker, I wonder if they would have fitted? One has now been rehomed to my daughter so I have two small hm ones and two shop-bought. Good job we like them.

    I do like marzipan, too, and can eat it on its own, and I like royal icing, especially with lemon juice - but the three together just heap on the calories and the cake is the main treat so I usually just have that nowadays.
    I think a bit of sunshine is good for frugal living. (Cranky40)
    The sun's been out and I think I’m solar powered (Onebrokelady)

    Fashion on the Ration 2025: Fabric 2, men's socks 3, Duvet 7.5, 2 t-shirts 10, men's socks 3, uniform top 0, hat 0, shoes 5 = 30.5/68
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  • Nelliegrace
    Nelliegrace Posts: 1,046 Forumite
    Seventh Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    edited 2 December 2024 at 4:22PM
    Aldi Almond extract is a good price. Delia or Mary Berry recipe for marzipan? Whole egg or egg white? I don’t think I can do ten minutes whisking a bowl of egg and sugar over a saucepan of simmering water. Would a hand mixer do?

    https://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/occasions/christmas/christmas-cakes-icings-and-toppings/almond-icing-marzipan
  • Cherryfudge
    Cherryfudge Posts: 13,119 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Did you get to make your marzipan, @Nelliegrace? I found a block in the larder that I'd not used ages ago. It's still sealed and soft but I'm wondering if the oils in it will have gone off.

    I never got as far as making the mincemeat but that's no different from past years so I'm not going to lose sleep over it.
    I think a bit of sunshine is good for frugal living. (Cranky40)
    The sun's been out and I think I’m solar powered (Onebrokelady)

    Fashion on the Ration 2025: Fabric 2, men's socks 3, Duvet 7.5, 2 t-shirts 10, men's socks 3, uniform top 0, hat 0, shoes 5 = 30.5/68
    2024: Trainers 5, dress 7, slippers 5, 2 prs socks (gift) 2, 3 prs white socks 3, t-shirts x 2 10, 6 prs socks: mostly gifts 6, duvet set 7.5 = 45.5/68 coupons
    20.5 coupons used in 2020. 62.5 used in 2021. 94.5 remaining as of 21/3/22
  • Christmas cake failure:


    (The tin is 9" diameter x 8.5" height).
    No man is worth crawling on this earth.

    So much to read, so little time.
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