Xmas Cake

twingle · 08/10/10 - 00:45

Are you buying or making your own? And if making have you made it yet?

I am making mine tomorrow after a 5 yr lapse of M and S cakes!! It is a tried and tested recipe from the shwarkoph (sp) (they used to come free when you bought 2 spices) cook book

If you are making what recipe do you use?

Swarfega · 08/10/10 - 00:53

Used to make one but I get mine far too cheap from where I work to make sense of making one.

Not too keen on the marzipan and icing (too sweet). Good slice of it with some Wensleydale, great on Boxing day.

Russ_WWFC · 08/10/10 - 01:55

My mum makes ours and it's the best ever. Too small though, I can't get enough of it

Ignazio · 08/10/10 - 02:32

Hi Twing

Always make it and use an old recipe handed down from a couple of generations.

If anyone is interested I'll be happy to post it.

[Deleted User] · 08/10/10 - 09:03

Could you post it please? Xmas cake is the one thing I've not made for years and told myself I'd make this year... But I've not started yet

twingle · 08/10/10 - 11:00

Oh yes please , I am happy to compare the one I have!

I bought all the ingreds yesterday and think M and S would be much cheaper!

kookiethekat · 08/10/10 - 11:52

I would love to make my own but would not even know where to start. I like boozy cakes. Can anyone recommend a recipe?

Ignazio · 08/10/10 - 21:09

Double line 9" round or 7" square cake tin

12 oz Butter
12 oz Demerara Sugar
6 Eggs
1 lb Plain Flour (do not use Self Raising)
Pinch Salt
1 lb Currants
1 lb Sultanas
4 oz Raisins
2 oz Glace cherries
4 oz Chopped almonds
half teaspoon mixed sprice
2 tablespoons black treacle
1 wine glass of brandy (optional)

Method.

Cream butter till soft; add sugar and continue to cream until sugar begins to melt: Whisk eggs and beat in a little at a time (beat each addition thoroughly to avoid curdling). Stir in sifted flour and salt and add rest of ingredients. The mixture should be quite stiff.

Transfer to tin and and tie a strip of thick brown paper around the outside of the tin to stand about and inch or so higher than the tin. Cover with circle of brown paper a little bigger than the tin, with a small circle cut from the middle.

Bake for about 6 hours 20 mins at Mark 1 Gas. 275F; 140C removing the paper after 3 hours
or
Bake for 1 hour at Mark 3 Gas; 325F. 160C then reduce to Gas Mark 1 for 5 hours.

You can make half the quantity and bake in a 7" round tin at Gas Mark 3 for 1 hour then Mark 2 Gas; 300F; 150C for 2 and a half hours
or
Gas Mark 1 for 3 hours and 45 minutes.

The cake can be left to stand in the tin overnight before baking.

Feed with brandy at regular intervals before covering with almond paste; leave to dry for at least 3 days before icing.

It probably is more expensive than M&S or similar - but it's also deeper and nothing beats a homebaked cake and I love the feeling of satisfaction.

I also insist on homebaked mince pies.

twingle · 08/10/10 - 23:07

Thanks Iggie

That is very similar to mine accept for the treacle mixed peel and nuts I will copy it out tomorrow.

I also replace the mixed peel and nuts (not so keen) with extra fruit

I agree about the minced pies too and if the mincemeat is home made even better!

One of my memories is of baking xmas cake when 9 months pregnant and husband taken daughter to london for ballet exam and both sets of neighbours away and praying baby didn't decide to come until cake was cooked

He arrived 5 days later so was still able to periodically feed it brandy:D

Ignazio · 08/10/10 - 23:15

twingle wrote: »

I agree about the minced pies too and if the mincemeat is home made even better!

I don't think some people realise just how easy home made mincemeat is. Make it once and you'll never buy commercial mincemeat again.

One of my memories is of baking xmas cake when 9 months pregnant and husband taken daughter to london for ballet exam and both sets of neighbours away and praying baby didn't decide to come until cake was cooked He arrived 5 days later so was still able to periodically feed it brandy:D

What a memory - neither Christmas cakes nor babies can be hurried.:D

hooter · 08/10/10 - 23:30

Ignazio wrote: »

Hi Twing

Always make it and use an old recipe handed down from a couple of generations.

If anyone is interested I'll be happy to post it.

Thank you. Recipe now saved and will be tried tomorrow. let you know how it turns out.

ImaPlum · 09/10/10 - 13:11

twingle wrote: »

....... and praying baby didn't decide to come until cake was cooked He arrived 5 days later so was still able to periodically feed it brandy:D

You fed your baby brandy? Good Lord! :eek:

I want to bake a Christmas Cake but no-one here seems to like it and the recipe I use makes a huge cake. I could of course bake it and eat it all myself but then I would be fat and spotty ... and probably a tad sick. Maybe that's what Christmas is all about!

twingle · 09/10/10 - 14:15

oooo Imaplum where you been *hugs*

Go for it show them aussies what a real xmas cake tastes like xx

twingle · 09/10/10 - 14:33

Schwartz Traditional Xmas cake

10oz butter
8oz soft brown sugar
6 size 3 eggs
10oz plain flour
pinch of salt
2tsp ground nutmeg
2tsp ground ginger
2tsp ground cinnamon
4oz ground almonds
12oz currants
12oz seedless raisins
12oz sultanas
6oz glace cherries chopped
6oz mixed peel
2oz almonds blanched and chopped
grated rind and juice of 1 lemon
6 Tbs brandy

preheat oven to gas mark 3 160/325

Grease a deep round 8in cake tin and line with double layer of grease paper
cream butter and sugar beat in eggs one at a time adding a spoonful of flour with each one.

Sift remaining flour with salt and spices and fold in to mixture.
Stir in dried fruit ,mixed peel cherries and rind and lemon juice. Mix until all thoroughly combined

bake 1 hour then further 1 hour at gas 1 140/275. Cover top of cake with greaseproof paper and bake for another 1 and a half to 2 hours.

Leave to cool completely then prick underside with fork and gently pour on brandy

Wrap in foil and place in airtight container will keep for several months and not necessary to freeze
2 weeks before xmas marzipan top and sides leave to dry for 3 days then ice with Royal icing

I don't like mixed peel and the blanched almonds so leave them out and add the equiv weight in fruit.

mummypigget · 09/10/10 - 17:50

I usually do both puds and cakes, recipes from my Great Great Gran (it may have been from further back but not sure) however this year do to being very busy I will be buying both but I will make mince pies and mincemeat cupcakes with white choc buttercream:)

Sallysally · 09/10/10 - 21:32

I discovered Nigel Slater's Xmas cake recipe about 10 years back and have done it ever since. It has figs and cranberries and lots of other nice things and it is fabulous.

I don't think I have ever bought a Xmas cake in my life - my mum used to make it then I took over. In fact, nobody in my family buys theirs and now everybody uses the Slater recipe!

cnbcwatcher · 09/10/10 - 22:13

None of us like the traditional fruit cakes (too rich and heavy) so what mum does is buy a plain Madeira or sponge cake, a roll of icing, some marzipan and some festive decorations and just puts them on top of the cake. It tastes really nice and it's not too heavy or anything. Love it

Ignazio · 09/10/10 - 22:14

cnbcwatcher wrote: »

None of us like the traditional fruit cakes (too rich and heavy) so what mum does is buy a plain Madeira or sponge cake, a roll of icing, some marzipan and some festive decorations and just puts them on top of the cake. It tastes really nice and it's not too heavy or anything. Love it

I've made a glace fruit cake for those who don't like Christmas cake.

cnbcwatcher · 10/10/10 - 23:28

Ignazio wrote: »

I've made a glace fruit cake for those who don't like Christmas cake.

Good idea. I'm not the only one then :cool:

tvfanny · 11/10/10 - 22:35

When I make a cake for Christmas I always use Delias recipe for Creole Christmas Cake - more fruit than cake, more booze than fruit!
It's an excellent moist rich (very) fruit cake; the recipe is found in Delia Smiths Christmas book.

ejak · 12/10/10 - 11:13

I used to teach cake decorating so had many different recipes for cake.The one I used nearly all the time was my nans, which had a standard set of ingredients, flour butter suger eggs ect, and then just use any dried fruit and nuts that you had in the cupboard, no quantities just keep adding until the mixture litterally can't take anymore. Then cokk for one hour at 160 then turn down to 110 and cook for 1 hour an inch for square pans, and 40mins for round. I would usually cook 2 cakes at a time overnight.
The thing is after making litterally hundreds of these cakes we no longer eat them

.So at christmas I do a light fruit cake made with dried fruit infused with brandy to make the cake keep longer, and decorate with nuts and glace fruits instead of icing and marzipan.

[Deleted User] · 14/10/10 - 10:48

tvfanny wrote: »

When I make a cake for Christmas I always use Delias recipe for Creole Christmas Cake - more fruit than cake, more booze than fruit!
It's an excellent moist rich (very) fruit cake; the recipe is found in Delia Smiths Christmas book.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/creolechristmascake_92907

I have a recipe very similar to Delia's, only i have put the fruits to soak already.

Hey there!

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