Search This Blog

Image and video hosting by TinyPic

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

FOOD: Christmas cake

 Christmas Cake

This traditional Christmas cake pulls out all the stops - if you have the time, feed it with brandy in the run up to Christmas.

Ingredients

  • 225g/8oz plain flour
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp mixed spice
  • ½ tsp ground cinnamon
  • 200g/7oz butter
  • 200g/7oz dark brown sugar
  • 2 tbsp black treacle
  • 1 tbsp marmalade
  • ¼ tsp vanilla essence
  • 4 free-range eggs, lightly beaten
  • 800g/1¾lb mixed dried fruits
  • 100g/3½oz chopped mixed peel
  • 150g/5oz glacé cherries, halved
  • 100g/3½oz blanched almonds, chopped
  • brandy
To decorate
  • 200g/7oz marzipan
  • 1-2 tbsp apricot jam, warmed
For the royal icing
  • 3 free-range egg whites
  • 600g/1lb 5oz icing sugar, sieved
  • 1½ tsp liquid glycerine - optional
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice

Preparation method


  1. Heat the oven to 150C/300F/Gas2. Grease a 20cm/8inch round or an 18cm/7inch square cake tin and line the bottom and sides with baking parchment.
  2. Sieve the flour, salt, mixed spice and cinnamon into a bowl.
  3. Cream the butter and the sugar in a large mixing bowl and then mix in the sugar, treacle, marmalade and vanilla essence until light and fluffy.
  4. Mix the eggs a little at a time into the mixture adding a tablespoon of flour mixture with the last amount.
  5. Fold in the remaining flour mixture until well mixed and then mix in the dried fruit, mixed peel, glace cherries and the almonds.
  6. Turn the mixture into the prepared tin and make a slight hollow in the centre.
  7. Bake in the oven for 3 hours and then test with a skewer. If not ready bake for up to another hour testing every 20 minutes until the skewer comes out clean.
  8. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for 15 minutes.
  9. Turn out on to a wire rack and leave to cool.
  10. Once cool, make a few holes in the cake with a skewer and pour over 3-4 tbspof brandy. Let the brandy soak into the cake.
  11. Store the cake wrapped in foil and in an airtight tin or plastic container, holes side up.
  12. OPTIONAL: For a rich and moist cake, spoon over a few tablespoons of brandy every week until you are ready to ice and decorate your cake.
  13. To decorate the cake, place the cake on a foil board or cake plate.
  14. Dust your hands and the work surface with a little icing sugar and knead the marzipan until soft.
  15. 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.
  16. Brush the cake all over with the warmed apricot jam and then place the marzipan on top and around the cake.
  17. Cover the cake with a clean tea towel and then leave in a cool place for at least one day.
  18. To make the 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.
  19. Spread icing all over cake either flat iced using a clean ruler or by forming soft peaks. Decorate with Christmas ornaments.

No comments:

Post a Comment


Category

1915 Armenian Genocide 21st-century Christian martyrs‎ africa al assad Al Qaeda albania anti-Morsi protests Apostles Arab Christian Arab-Orthodox Archimandrite Tikhon Shevkunov army Asia Australia bank BBC Belarusian Orthodox Church Bethlehem bible Bible movies bible translations bulgaria Bulgarian Orthodox Church Byzantine byzantine music C.I.A. Cairo China Christian Armenians christianity christians christmas Christmas Traditions Christmas tree church Conspiracy Constantinople coptic church copts cyprus daily news Documentary Easter economy Ecumenical Patriarch Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople egypt egypt pope elder Elder Ephraim of Vatopaidi elder joseph of vatopaidi elder Paisios Elder Porphyrios english subtitles Epiphany europe food Fr Seraphim Rose france FREE books FREE Greetings Cards fyrmacedonia Georgian Orthodox Church germany greece greek greek food greek music Greek Orthodox Church Greek Orthodox Easter greek orthodoxy health and medicine Holy Fathers Holy Scripture Holy Tradition icon Internet Interview iran islam islamist israel Italy jerusalem Jesus Christ jews jihad killed libya mafia Middle East Miraculous Icon monastery money mother of god mount athos Mount Sinai Movie Trailers music muslim muslims news orthodox church Orthodox Church in America pakistan Palestine patristic tradition photo photos picture politics pope Prophecy protests quotes recipes religion romania romanian orthodox church Russia Russian Orthodox Church saint Saints science Shroud of Turin Son of God spy St Nicholas of Myra syria The Mount Athos Food Evolution theotokos travel turkey tv UK Ukraine Ukrainian Orthodox Church usa Vatican vatopaidi video war Watch FREE full movie world
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...