Have you thought about your Christmas Day menu? We know Christmas is 100 days to away, but getting organised and ticking the small tasks off your lists saves you plenty of stress in the long run!
Some Christmas food is best made well in advance – like puddings, cakes, fruit mince, relish etc. A traditional Christmas cake is usually made a few months prior to the date, to get all the flavours of the dried fruits and spices time to mature and infuse together. It’s a great idea to start a little early so you are able to refine your technique.
Traditional Christmas puddings and cakes make the perfect gift when unexpected guests drop by or there is a social calling.
A Christmas pudding does not need as long to mature as a Christmas cake – even though they seem to contain many similar ingredients. The reason is that the Christmas pudding also contains suet, which helps to keep the pudding moist and rich. Our elves have been eating Christmas pudding until they pop!
Below is a recipe from Jo Pratt:
Fruity Christmas Cake
Makes 1 x 25cm round or square cake
INGREDIENTS
300g currants
200g raisins
200g sultanas
200g dried apricots, quartered
200g dried prunes, quartered
100g glace cherries, halved
100g diced glace ginger
Juice and finely grated rind of 1 orange
350g plain flour
1/2tsp ground allspice
1/2tsp ground cinnamon
1/2tsp grated nutmeg
75g ground almonds
275g unsalted butter, at room temperature
275g soft dark-brown sugar
1tbsp black treacle
75ml brandy
5 large eggs
Extra brandy for maturing
METHOD
1. Place all the dried fruits in a large bowl and stir in the 75ml of brandy, orange juice and zest. Cover and leave in a cool place overnight.
2. The next day, line the base and sides of a greased 25cm round or square cake tin with a double layer of baking parchment so it comes about 5cm above the tin. Put a double layer around the outside of the tin and, rather than struggling with a piece of string, hold it in place with a couple of staples or paper clips. Doing this prevents the cake from overcooking around the outside during the long cooking time.
3. Preheat the oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 2. Sift together the flour, allspice, cinnamon and nutmeg.
4. In a large bowl or electric mixer, whisk together the butter, sugar and treacle until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, adding 1tbsp of the flour with each egg. Mix in the almonds and soaked fruits, then mix in the remaining flour.
TIP: If you like a nutty Christmas cake, add 200g chopped walnuts, pecans or brazil nuts (or a mixture of all three) to the cake with the ground almonds.
5. Spoon the mixture into the prepared cake tin, making sure there are no air pockets, and spread evenly across the top. Place the tin in the oven, sitting on several pieces of brown paper or newspaper – this will also help prevent the outside of the cake from overcooking.
6. After 2 1/2 hours, insert a skewer into the centre of the cake. If it comes out clean, the cake is cooked; if not, carry on cooking, testing every 10 minutes. During the cooking time, if the top seems to getting too dark, cover with a piece of baking parchment or foil.
7. When cooked, leave the cake in the tin to cool for about 1 hour and then turn out on to a wire rack. When the cake is completely cold, make several deep holes with a skewer and pour over a couple of tablespoons of brandy. This will absorb into the cake, giving a richer, moister finish as it matures.
8. Wrap the cake in a double layer of greaseproof paper or foil and store in a tin. Repeat moistening with brandy at regular intervals before Christmas.
The cake is delicious just as it is, but is far more festive when decorated in the traditional way with marzipan and icing. Whether you choose rough or smooth icing is up to you.
MARZIPAN LAYER
- 1/2 a jar of smooth apricot jam
- 750g white or yellow marzipan
- Icing sugar for dusting
Serve your delicious treats on our Christmas themed cake serving platters for a merrier mood! What are some of your favourite recipes? Please share with us – our Christmas Elves would love to try them out!