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Christmas Recipes
Classic Christmas Cake
INGREDIENTS
250g plain flour
4 eggs, beaten
250g brown sugar
250 butter
200ml brandy
Grated zest of 1 lemon
Grated zest of 1 orange
1 teaspoon mixed spice
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
100g almonds roughly chopped
100g red glacé cherries, quartered
100g candied peel, finely diced
250g sultanas
250g raisins
250g currants
Pinch of salt
For: 8 servings.
PREPARATION
1. Mix all the fruits, almonds, mixed spices, vanilla and lemon
in a large bowl.
2. Stir in the brandy. Cover with plastic
wrap and leave overnight (at least4 hours) so thatthe fruits
can absorb most of the brandy.
3. The next day, preheat the oven to warm
160°C.
4. Line the the base and sides of the tin
with buttered baking paper, which should be 2.5cm taller than
the side of the tin.
5. Wrap a strip of brown paper around the
tin and tie with a string.
6. Beat the sugar and butter in a large
bowl until light and creamy using electric beaters. Add the
egss one at a time, beating well after each addition. Sift together
the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Add the butter mixture
to the soaked fruit and stir until thoroughly combined.
7. Spoon into the cake tin and smooth the
surface with wet fingers. Bake for 30 minutes, then reduce heat
to 150°C and cook for another 3 hours.
8. Remove from the oven and allox to cool.
9. Wrap in plastic film and store in a cool
place overnight ot up to four weeks in advance, before icing.
ICING
A careful preparation will make icing our cake easy. The more
perfectly shaped the cake, the better the results.
Use the correct tin size, spread the mixture
evenly, smooth the surface with wet fingers and tap the tin
on the bench to remove air bubbles.
You'll need about 500g of marzipan, ready-made
almond icing and 500g of soft icing for a 20cm cake.
Prevent your icing to dry out by covering
with a plastic wrap.
Marzipan or Almond Icing
1. Melt 3 tablespoons of apricot jam with 1 teaspoon of water
in a small pan over a low heat, sieve out any lumps and brush
over the cake. This will hold the icing in place.
2. Dust a worksurface with icing sugar and
roll out the marzipan to a 2 mm thickness.
3. Roll it over a rolling pin, then carefully
drap the marzipan over the cake, smoothing out any wrinkles
with icing sugar-dusted hands.
4. Trim off any excess around the base of
the cake and leave the cake overnight in cool dry place. This
layer makes the base for the soft icing.
You can interchange the marzipan with the
almond icing.
Soft Icing
1. Brush a thin layer of a lightly beaten egg white over the
almond icing.
2. Dust a worksurface with icing. Roll out
the icing and cover the cake using the same method as for the
marzipan.
3. Dust your hands with icing sugar and
smooth the surface by usins a 'smoother'. Trim off any excess
around the base of the cake with a sharp knife.
Leave the cake overnight in cool dry place.
Decorating
Leftover icing can be used to create small decorations. Paint
with food coloring and dry. Then stick them to the cake with
a little of egg white mixed with icing sugar.
You can shape and color the icing into green
Christmas trees, various sizes and colors presents, Greeting
letters, green leaves and red balls to represent holly berries.
Holly leaves can be used alone (no berries)
as a wreath around the edges of the cake.
Important: Never use real holly berries
to decorate your cake, they are toxic.
