jojo
23rd August 2007, 01:23 PM
Another recipe courtesy of Sara from Nonsuch Gardens
Here is the Christmas cake which I make. It looks horrendously complicated, but you just need to get yourself organised. As a fruit cake you can have it any time. I usually mix up a double batch in a HUGE bowl and then freeze portions which works very well - this cake freezes excellently. I love making it because the raw mixture is to die for - there's always a bit left over in the bowl for the cook. LOL
Christmas Cake recipe
You will need a large cake pan 25 cm square, or a 30 cm pan which will make the cake lower and easier to cut. The mixture will make 2 20 cm cakes if preferred (I've always found this mixture makes 2 good size cakes if you don't eat all the raw mixture first!).
Place in a large basin -
50 grams chopped pecan nuts
250 grams chopped glace fruits
50 grams slivered almonds
125 grams green and yellow cherries
500 grams raisins
125 grams chopped dates
500 gram sultanas
125 grams chopped prunes
375 gram mixed fruit
rind of one lemon
(Note: I mix up the fruits using what I prefer - for instance I don't like dates so I don't use those; I just make sure that all up I have the same weight of fruit as everything above combined.)
Sprinkle all the above fruit with 100 mls of brandy or rum (I have also used whisky, a really good single malt!), cover, and leave to stand overnight.
(Note: I use far more than 100 mls! Probably closer to 300 to half a bottle and I leave it to stand for about 24 hours, mixing occasionally.)
Place in a sieve:
300grams of almond meal. You can substitute gluten free flour if you wish, or even ordinary flour.
1 teaspoon of ginger
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 level teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
2 teaspoons of mixed spice
2 teaspoons of nutmeg
Place into a mixer bowl
250 gram of butter,
250 gram of brown sugar
1 teaspoon of plum jam
1 teaspoon of treacle
Into another basin break five eggs. (If I've added a whole heap more spirits to soak the fruit in I usually add a couple more eggs to hold it all together).
If you don't want to ice your cake you can put aside more glace fruits and nuts to decorate the top.
Preparation:
Grease your cake pan/s and line with baking paper
Place the oven shelf to the lowest position in the oven
Set the oven temperature to 200 degrees C.
To mix:
Lightly cream the butter and sugar - over beating will cause the fruit to sink
Whisk the eggs lightly with a rotary or hand whisk
Sift the flour and spices into the bowl of prepared fruit
Mix with a wooden spoon or your hands until all the fruit is coated with flour
Add fruit and flour mix to the creamed sugar and butter (although it is better to add the creamed sugar and butter to the flour and fruit mixture!)
Stir in the beaten eggs and turn the mixture well with the wooden spoon.
You'll think that's there's not enough sugar/butter and eggs mixture to hold the cake together, but trust me, it works.
Spoon in the mixture into the cake pan and decorate the top with nuts and/or glace fruit (if you're not going to ice)
Cover the top of the cake with aluminum foil to stop the nuts from browning (I don't do this if I'm going to ice .. . actually even if I'm not going to ice as I tend to leave the cake undecorated ... but watch the top of the cake if you leave it uncovered - you may need to put some foil over it at some stage if it starts to burn)
Reduce the oven temp to 150 degrees C and place cake on lowest shelf of the oven. Bake for 3 hours, or 2 hours in cooked in a shallow tin. When cake is cooked remove from oven and allow to cool in the tin. Do not cut for 24 hours.
You can make this 3 months ahead of schedule; it can be frozen for longer periods.
This is the most stunning cake and well, well worth the effort and cost. This recipe originally came from Lola's gluten free cooking book some years ago and I have adapted it a bit. Also, you can substitute all kinds of dried fruits - no need to stick religiously to the ones given here - just keep overall weight the same
Here is the Christmas cake which I make. It looks horrendously complicated, but you just need to get yourself organised. As a fruit cake you can have it any time. I usually mix up a double batch in a HUGE bowl and then freeze portions which works very well - this cake freezes excellently. I love making it because the raw mixture is to die for - there's always a bit left over in the bowl for the cook. LOL
Christmas Cake recipe
You will need a large cake pan 25 cm square, or a 30 cm pan which will make the cake lower and easier to cut. The mixture will make 2 20 cm cakes if preferred (I've always found this mixture makes 2 good size cakes if you don't eat all the raw mixture first!).
Place in a large basin -
50 grams chopped pecan nuts
250 grams chopped glace fruits
50 grams slivered almonds
125 grams green and yellow cherries
500 grams raisins
125 grams chopped dates
500 gram sultanas
125 grams chopped prunes
375 gram mixed fruit
rind of one lemon
(Note: I mix up the fruits using what I prefer - for instance I don't like dates so I don't use those; I just make sure that all up I have the same weight of fruit as everything above combined.)
Sprinkle all the above fruit with 100 mls of brandy or rum (I have also used whisky, a really good single malt!), cover, and leave to stand overnight.
(Note: I use far more than 100 mls! Probably closer to 300 to half a bottle and I leave it to stand for about 24 hours, mixing occasionally.)
Place in a sieve:
300grams of almond meal. You can substitute gluten free flour if you wish, or even ordinary flour.
1 teaspoon of ginger
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 level teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
2 teaspoons of mixed spice
2 teaspoons of nutmeg
Place into a mixer bowl
250 gram of butter,
250 gram of brown sugar
1 teaspoon of plum jam
1 teaspoon of treacle
Into another basin break five eggs. (If I've added a whole heap more spirits to soak the fruit in I usually add a couple more eggs to hold it all together).
If you don't want to ice your cake you can put aside more glace fruits and nuts to decorate the top.
Preparation:
Grease your cake pan/s and line with baking paper
Place the oven shelf to the lowest position in the oven
Set the oven temperature to 200 degrees C.
To mix:
Lightly cream the butter and sugar - over beating will cause the fruit to sink
Whisk the eggs lightly with a rotary or hand whisk
Sift the flour and spices into the bowl of prepared fruit
Mix with a wooden spoon or your hands until all the fruit is coated with flour
Add fruit and flour mix to the creamed sugar and butter (although it is better to add the creamed sugar and butter to the flour and fruit mixture!)
Stir in the beaten eggs and turn the mixture well with the wooden spoon.
You'll think that's there's not enough sugar/butter and eggs mixture to hold the cake together, but trust me, it works.
Spoon in the mixture into the cake pan and decorate the top with nuts and/or glace fruit (if you're not going to ice)
Cover the top of the cake with aluminum foil to stop the nuts from browning (I don't do this if I'm going to ice .. . actually even if I'm not going to ice as I tend to leave the cake undecorated ... but watch the top of the cake if you leave it uncovered - you may need to put some foil over it at some stage if it starts to burn)
Reduce the oven temp to 150 degrees C and place cake on lowest shelf of the oven. Bake for 3 hours, or 2 hours in cooked in a shallow tin. When cake is cooked remove from oven and allow to cool in the tin. Do not cut for 24 hours.
You can make this 3 months ahead of schedule; it can be frozen for longer periods.
This is the most stunning cake and well, well worth the effort and cost. This recipe originally came from Lola's gluten free cooking book some years ago and I have adapted it a bit. Also, you can substitute all kinds of dried fruits - no need to stick religiously to the ones given here - just keep overall weight the same