You are searching for:
Christmas Cake
Ingredients
| For the cake: | |
| 225 g | flour, all purpose |
| 1/2 tsp | spices, mixed |
| 1/2 tsp | cinnamon, ground |
| 200 g | butter |
| 200 g | sugar, dark brown |
| 2 tbsp | treacle, black |
| 1 tbsp | marmalade |
| 1 tbsp | vanilla essence |
| 4 | egg(s), beaten |
| 800 g | dried fruits, mixed |
| 100 g | orange and/or lemon peel, grated |
| 150 g | cherries, glaced, halved |
| 100 g | almonds, blanched, chopped |
| 1/4 tsp | salt |
| brandy | |
| For the cake decoration: | |
| 200 g | marzipan |
| 2 tbsp | jam, apricot, warmed |
| For the icing: | |
| 3 | egg white(s) |
| 600 g | icing sugar, sieved |
| 2 tbsp | lemon juice |
Method
Preparation time: ca. 12 hrs 50 min Resting time: ca. 12 hrs / Grade of difficulty: tricky / Calories per portion: n/a
A day before preparation:
Place the dried fruit and candied peels together in a bowl, and pour the brandy over them. Mix everything together until all the fruit has been coated with brandy. Place to one side and leave to absorb the brandy for at least 12 hours.
Making the cake:
Heat the oven to 150C or 300F. Grease a 7-8inch round or square cake tin and line the bottom and sides with baking parchment.
Sieve the flour, salt, mixed spice and cinnamon into a bowl.
Cream the butter and the sugar in a large mixing bowl and then mix in the sugar, treacle, marmalade and vanilla essence until fluffy.
Mix the eggs bit by bit at a time into the mixture adding a tablespoon of flour mixture with the last amount.
Add the remaining flour mixture until well mixed and then mix in the dried fruit, mixed peel, glace cherries and the almonds.
Turn the mixture into the prepared tin and make a slight hollow in the centre.
Bake in the oven for 3 hours and then test with a skewer. Make sure to check the cake with a knife or a wooden stick to see whether it is done.
Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for 15 minutes.
Once cool, make a few holes in the cake with a skewer and pour over 3-4 tbsp of brandy. Let the brandy soak into the cake.
Store the cake wrapped in foil and in an airtight tin or plastic container, holes side up.
Cake decoration:
Dust he work surface with a little icing sugar and knead the marzipan until soft.
Roll out half the marzipan to fit the top of the cake and roll out the rest in strips to fit around the sides of the cake.
Brush the cake all over with the warmed apricot jam and then place the marzipan on top and around the cake.
Cover the cake with a clean tea towel and then leave in a cool place for at least one day.
Icing:
Lightly whisk the egg whites adding the sugar at intervals. Beat well until the icing reaches soft peaks. Add the glycerine if using and the lemon juice.
Spread icing all over cake either flat iced using a clean ruler or by forming soft peaks.
Place the dried fruit and candied peels together in a bowl, and pour the brandy over them. Mix everything together until all the fruit has been coated with brandy. Place to one side and leave to absorb the brandy for at least 12 hours.
Making the cake:
Heat the oven to 150C or 300F. Grease a 7-8inch round or square cake tin and line the bottom and sides with baking parchment.
Sieve the flour, salt, mixed spice and cinnamon into a bowl.
Cream the butter and the sugar in a large mixing bowl and then mix in the sugar, treacle, marmalade and vanilla essence until fluffy.
Mix the eggs bit by bit at a time into the mixture adding a tablespoon of flour mixture with the last amount.
Add the remaining flour mixture until well mixed and then mix in the dried fruit, mixed peel, glace cherries and the almonds.
Turn the mixture into the prepared tin and make a slight hollow in the centre.
Bake in the oven for 3 hours and then test with a skewer. Make sure to check the cake with a knife or a wooden stick to see whether it is done.
Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for 15 minutes.
Once cool, make a few holes in the cake with a skewer and pour over 3-4 tbsp of brandy. Let the brandy soak into the cake.
Store the cake wrapped in foil and in an airtight tin or plastic container, holes side up.
Cake decoration:
Dust he work surface with a little icing sugar and knead the marzipan until soft.
Roll out half the marzipan to fit the top of the cake and roll out the rest in strips to fit around the sides of the cake.
Brush the cake all over with the warmed apricot jam and then place the marzipan on top and around the cake.
Cover the cake with a clean tea towel and then leave in a cool place for at least one day.
Icing:
Lightly whisk the egg whites adding the sugar at intervals. Beat well until the icing reaches soft peaks. Add the glycerine if using and the lemon juice.
Spread icing all over cake either flat iced using a clean ruler or by forming soft peaks.
| Tweet |
Comments by other users
Many thanks for the quick answere. When I further studied this recipe I did not find any hint for rising-powder, baking soda or something which rises the batter. Is this not nessecary?
The fruits? Have they to be soft-dried, fresh oder dried and than soaked. And when: how long in which? Water? Juice? Rum?
When I will have made this cake, which seems to be the favorite cake of my husband, I will select stars. Now, I did a lot of Christmas-bakery, so it will last some weeks.
Ist seems to me a wonderful cake. But not to make mistakes with all this ingredients I want to know exactly.
With kind regards
stellamaris
The fruits? Have they to be soft-dried, fresh oder dried and than soaked. And when: how long in which? Water? Juice? Rum?
When I will have made this cake, which seems to be the favorite cake of my husband, I will select stars. Now, I did a lot of Christmas-bakery, so it will last some weeks.
Ist seems to me a wonderful cake. But not to make mistakes with all this ingredients I want to know exactly.
With kind regards
stellamaris
Helpful comment:
I baked it without baking soda or baking powder. But if you think it could need it, then feel free to add it and let us know whether it did the trick or not.I buy packets of ready-made dried fruit, so there is no need to soak or dry any fruit yourself.
However, I like the idea of soaking tthe fruit in rum or brandy and then adding it to the batter. I always try to use as little alcohol as necessary when it comes to cakes and desserts.
Did I answer your questions?
Hi Alexa,
many thanks for your detailled answeres. Now I am completely informed. I as well prefer to add as little alcohol as nessecary. But for this recipe I plan to buy ready-made fruits without any chemical ingredients.
Kind regards
stellamaris
many thanks for your detailled answeres. Now I am completely informed. I as well prefer to add as little alcohol as nessecary. But for this recipe I plan to buy ready-made fruits without any chemical ingredients.
Kind regards
stellamaris
The answeres I received were really usefull. Now I prepared this cake. I did not cover the cake with marcipane nor did I ice it. 1. it seemed to me to heavy and too sweet, too muck sugarstuff and 2. it is no longer Chrismas. However, it is an all-seasons-cake I mean. It also depends on the mixture of spices, dried fruits and the kind of peels.
The description of preparing and baking ist very exact and works perfect, the time which is calculated is quite exact.
The baking time in my oven was 3 hours and 15 minutes, I used circulation-air and switched it on 125 ° degrees C, until the last 30 minutes I took 150 ° C.
And I covered it after 1 and a half hour with aluminium-foil to prevent a dark-brown or even black cake. Because it was already light brown at the surface.
I covered the tin completely with baking-parchment, even the bottom.
Fortunately I only have a larger cake tin as there is proposed because it is a huge cake.
And the cake is very delicious!!! I made the experience that it tastes better after 2 or 3 days. And I was right not to cover it with sugar decoration. Because it is a very heavy cake. One small peace is enough for me or my husband. The feeling of having eaten enough lasts a few hours.
This was not the last time I baked this cake I promise.
The description of preparing and baking ist very exact and works perfect, the time which is calculated is quite exact.
The baking time in my oven was 3 hours and 15 minutes, I used circulation-air and switched it on 125 ° degrees C, until the last 30 minutes I took 150 ° C.
And I covered it after 1 and a half hour with aluminium-foil to prevent a dark-brown or even black cake. Because it was already light brown at the surface.
I covered the tin completely with baking-parchment, even the bottom.
Fortunately I only have a larger cake tin as there is proposed because it is a huge cake.
And the cake is very delicious!!! I made the experience that it tastes better after 2 or 3 days. And I was right not to cover it with sugar decoration. Because it is a very heavy cake. One small peace is enough for me or my husband. The feeling of having eaten enough lasts a few hours.
This was not the last time I baked this cake I promise.
Delicious!! i have tried an similar one before but it was not as good as this is, including brandy definitely adds to the taste..Thanks for the recipe.
Add your own comment
In order to comment on a recipe, you have to be registered. If you are registered, please login with your username and password.
Stellamaris
21/12/2009 12:21 o'clock