Christmas Cake

[sweetpea]

Is it true that you can make them quite far in advance? Anyone know when?

[alanatkie]

You can make Christmas Cake as far in advance as you like. It is so the flavours will develope over time. I know that to keep it most my mum use to take a skewer & prod holes in the bottom of the cake & pore a small amount of brandy or whisky over it.

[sweetpea]

I kinda thought I'd heard of folk doing that. I'm going to give it a try and see what happens.

[arana negra]

Been known to make one in tattie holidays ( kids did the mixing the bowl licking) and yes to keep it moist, use skewer to make a few holes in top and top up brandy/whisky whichever you prefer.

[sweetpea]

Well I made it! It's a bit burnt round the edges, is that ok? Can I cut those bits off before I ice it? I've fed it twice with brandy and it's looking good.

[Buttercup]

I got a recipe for a "tropical" christmas cake from Home & Freezer Digest Magazine (now defunct) many years ago. It has crushed pineapple in it which keeps it lovely and moist, and also tiny balls of marzipan. Must rake it out and maybe try it again this year.

[Margaret M.]

I got a recipe for a "tropical" christmas cake from Home & Freezer Digest Magazine

Sounded good so I searched some recipe sites -- is your recipe anything like this one?

Tropical Christmas Cake

3 C (500g) mixed dried fruit
1 x 440g crushed pineapple in natural juice
1/2 C brandy / rum
1/2 C brown sugar (loosely packed)
1 level tsp bicarb soda
1 level tsp mixed spice
3 egg whites
2 C self raising flour
1/4 C blanched almonds (optional)
1 level tsp Parisian essence (optional)

Place mixed fruit, sugar, spice, brandy and whole can pineapple in a saucepan (nothing to stop you soaking the fruit in the brandy or rum for a couple of days first though).
Boil 3 mins
Stir in bicarb soda
Leave to cool
Preheat oven to 180 degrees fan forced
Once fruit mixture has cooled stir in eggwhites well
If you prefer a darker cake add Parisian essence to fruit mix
Fold in flour
Pour mixture into a cake tin (19") that has been coated with cooking spray
Top with almonds and bake approx. 1 hr

[Boss]

I start mine in September, making the cake first, store for a month,then marzipan, store for a further month, then ice, store again to allow setting of icing, then ice again and store until needed.

Trade secret? mix equal quanties of good quality Almond Esssence and Brandy Essence to bring the flavour to the cake, soak your fruit in it for a day or so turning the fruit into it and thoroughly coating the fruit (a table sppon of each, should suffice for one cake).

[floyed]

might attempt to make one this year am i to late???

[changilass]

Please can someone help?

What is 'Parisian essence'? - never heard of it before, and where do you get it from, I likes the sound of this recipe.

[Margaret M.]

What is 'Parisian essence'? - never heard of it before, and where do you get it from, I likes the sound of this recipe.

From what I can find, it is an Australian product:
Parisian Essence -- This is the perfect traditional ingredient to enhance the rich brown colouring of gravies, puddings, cakes and more.

Since it seems to add brown colour and it is optional, I'll be skipping it.

[Boss]

Please can someone help?

What is 'Parisian essence'? - never heard of it before, and where do you get it from, I likes the sound of this recipe.

Aka in the trade as Blackjack, Ie; Burnt sugar.

[poppett]

I used to work at a big house and the lady of the manor used to make her cake in September, then give it a "wee tipple" of whatever the guests were having at her (many) dinner parties.

By christmas the fruit was moist to bursting point and the cake was divine.

One year the newest puppy got loose with the cake in the kitchen before she got it iced and the puppy was found slumped and hiccoughing in front of the Aga, the cake had a chunk out of the bottom. Undeterred the lady of the house patched it up with extra marzipan and iced it and it looked lovely. All who tasted it said it was her best ever effort!!

I have never eaten christmas cake since........

[htwood]

Way back in the olden days before I was working fulltime, I used to make several kinds of Christmas cake in October and store them wrapped in cloth soaked in rum in airtight tins.
There was a black cake with chopped figs, prunes, blackberry wine and burnt sugar syrup, then a golden cake with sultanas and pineapple, then a dark cake with mixed citron and it also had chopped chocolate bits! mmmm
It's best if made a few months ahead of christmas, but don't worry if its mid November, they will eat it no matter how long its been soaking. OMG I'm makin masell howngry.

[changilass]

Do you still have the recipe for the black cacke HT, it sounds wonderful

[htwood]

I'll have a look for that recipe Changi. Seems to me the chopped dried fruits had to be soaked in blackberry wine for a month, with me stirring it every day. Wish you lived next door, I have leftover burnt sugar syrup in the fridge from last year.
If I dont post the recipe in a week, send the rescue squad to pull me from the cupboard. It's in there "somewhere".

[htwood]

BLACK CAKE: Makes 2 10-inch round cakes

1 pound dark raisins
1 pound currants
1 pound pitted prunes
1 pound dried figs
1/2 pound mixed peel or glace cherries
1-750 ml bottle blackberry wine (or any fruit wine)
1 pound dark brown sugar
1 pound butter, plus butter for greasing pans
1 pound eggs (about one dozen)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 pound flour, plus flour for dusting pans
1 tablespoon baking powder
3 ounces burnt sugar *
1 quart tawny port

Place fruits in a large plastic or glass bowl. Add one cup of blackberry wine. Put through a meat grinder, using a medium blade. Mix in the remaining wine so that the ground fruit forms a smooth paste. (Do not let fruits sit in a metal container; use either a plastic or a glass bowl.). Cover tightly. Let stand in a cool place for at least two weeks.
Preheat oven to 300 F. (errrm, dont sure what gas mark for you)
Beat dark brown sugar and softened butter together; in a separate bowl combine eggs and spices and whip until foamy. Combine eggs and butter-sugar mixture. Add ground fruits. Mix well.
In a separate bowl, mix flour with baking powder. Stir flour mixture into fruit mixture. Add burnt sugar. Batter should be dark brown.
Grease and lightly flour 2 10-inch springform baking pans that are at least three inches deep. Fill with mixture and bake for 2 hours or until a tester comes out clean.
Take pans out of oven. Let cool one hour, then remove cakes from pans and cool completely.
Pour one cup of Port over the top of each. Let it absorb. After 10 minutes, pour on remaining Port. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Do not use foil. Let cakes age at least a week. The longer the better.
Do not refrigerate. Make sure cakes remain moist. If they become dry, moisten with Port. The cake can be frozen.
* Burnt sugar: Combine 1/4 cup sugar with 2 tablespoons water. Boil over high heat until sugar turns into a caramel and starts burning. Transfer to a bowl, cool and add a little cold water to thin the burnt caramel.

Changi, one of these was gone before Christmas, and I had to hide the other one behind the soup tins so Himself wouldnt eat it. He did complain that he liked his fruit a bit chunkier, so maybe just chop it with a knife? Hope this works out well for you. -H

[changilass]

With those large quantities were you feeding the 5000 lol

I am dividing it by 3 and gonna try to make one thanks, will let you know how it goes.

[changilass]

Thanks very much HT, any chance of you going back in that cupboard for the golden cake recipe??

Cheeky I know, but you can never have too much cake.

[Dorrie]

Well my cake is due out of the oven in 40 mins. I would never have made one if it hadn't been for this thread. It is based on a traditional recipe, but without cherries and mixed peel, but it does have apricots and figs. So far it is looking good and the whole house smells wonderful.

Thanks for the thread and prompting me to make my own cake this year.