Christmas Cake

kah22

I've been caught by the baking bug over this past few years and this year I want to make my own Christmas cake. There are three recipes I am looking at. One is by Delia She also gives a good guide to baking the cake Here. The seond is a John Lewis recipe and the third is by my favourite cheif Gordon Ramsay.

My feeling at the moment would be to go with the Delia cake but Ramsay is a very close second. Maybe I'll make two!

I was reading an online article in the Telegraph which suggested the traditional day for making Christmas cakes and puddings in England was Stir Up Sunday, the last weekend before Advent. As a person very interested in tradition I was wondering if there is a traditional time to start making Christmas cakes here in Ireland.

Oh yes and while you are at it have you a favourite Christmas cake recipe?

Kevin

Faith

I made Delias one last year for my mum and she said it was one of the best Christmas cakes she'd ever had. Now, she's always very complimentary about my baking, but she also knows her Christmas cake.

ghartley

I have been making the delia one for about 3 years and everyone loves it, I do mine in october just so I have plenty of time to "feed" it.

sdp

plus one for Delias christmas cake, been making it last 10 years, and never goes wrong

vic20

I've made Nigella's Chocolate Christmas cake for the last four or five years. Always goes down well.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/chocolatefruitcake_84675

kah22

I'm a life long non-drinker and while I don't mind cooking with booze or eating food with booze in it as you might guess I don't have a great stock of it about the house.

Delia's recipe calls for brandy. Now I haven't got any brandy in the house but I do have a small bottle of whiskey and I was wondering if substituting whiskey for brandy will make that big of a difference. I'm assuming it won't but if I thought it would improve the cake I'd buy a small bottle of brandy

Hopefully some member who has baked the cake both ways can reply

Kevin

Faith

It's fine. I used whiskey last year. I don't drink brandy or whiskey, so just bought a naggin of whiskey for it.

ghartley

kah22 wrote: »

I'm a life long non-drinker and while I don't mind cooking with booze or eating food with booze in it as you might guess I don't have a great stock of it about the house.

Delia's recipe calls for brandy. Now I haven't got any brandy in the house but I do have a small bottle of whiskey and I was wondering if substituting whiskey for brandy will make that big of a difference. I'm assuming it won't but if I thought it would improve the cake I'd buy a small bottle of brandy

Hopefully some member who has baked the cake both ways can reply

Kevin

yeah you can no problem, it will still taste great

leahyl

Oh all this talk of Christmas cake has me all excited about Christmas now! Maybe I'll make one myself!

vic20

http://www.xmasclock.com/ You still have time to gather the ingredients

leahyl wrote: »

Oh all this talk of Christmas cake has me all excited about Christmas now! Maybe I'll make one myself!

Sigma Force

Nigellas Simnel cake can be made in to a xmassy cake maybe adding a little brandy or whiskey to the mix and covering the whole thing in marzipan and icing, it tastes just as nice as xmas cake nommy nom nom. Plus you can make it a day or two before..I'm a lazy baker.

vic20

I came across this recipe recently. Made one, left it for a week and tried it. Very nice If left to age for longer and with a more liberal dose of brandy (or whatever) it would make a fine Christmas cake.

kah22

Bought the brandy, thought I'd stick to the recipe first time around. But another question. How much brandy? Or is that like asking how long is a piece of string.

It is a 20cl bottle which I take it means 200mls

Kevin

vic20

Which recipe are you going for? (there's a fine selection of cakes on this thread)

kah22 wrote: »

Bought the brandy, thought I'd stick to the recipe first time around. But another question. How much brandy? Or is that like asking how long is a piece of string.

It is a 20cl bottle which I take it means 200mls

Kevin

kah22

vic20 wrote: »

Which recipe are you going for? (there's a fine selection of cakes on this thread)

Delia Smiths

vic20

Sorry, should have spotted that you had posted here previously.

I've never made her recipe so those that have will have a better idea as to how moist it is but I'd imagine that two or three tablespoons on it would not go astray...

kah22 wrote: »

Delia Smiths

Faith

How early do folk usually start making their christmas cakes?

toadfly

Faith wrote: »

How early do folk usually start making their christmas cakes?

I usually make them around the end of October.

sdp

kah22 wrote: »

Bought the brandy, thought I'd stick to the recipe first time around. But another question. How much brandy? Or is that like asking how long is a piece of string.

It is a 20cl bottle which I take it means 200mls

Kevin

If you are planning on feeding it, then 2/ 3 tablespoons is fine, double up if your not feeding it, you'll know by looking at the fruit, they should be nice and plump and juicy, good luck with it, we'll be making ours at the weekend

vic20

I don't make Nigella's recipe until mid November but I think I'll try something different this year so that'll be made at the weekend.

Faith wrote: »

How early do folk usually start making their christmas cakes?

vicwatson

Faith wrote: »

I made Delias one last year for my mum and she said it was one of the best Christmas cakes she'd ever had. Now, she's always very complimentary about my baking, but she also knows her Christmas cake.

I've the Delia one in the oven ! an hour to go ! Smells good, hope I didn't make a hames of it.

Can you tell me in the recipe she say to "feed" it Brandy once its cool etc,

How much to use, don't want to kill it with brandy?

How often? i.e. should I do it again in perhaps November and December or......?

Cheers

Edit 0 just reading here makes me think I've baked the CC wayyyyyy too early?? Wil it be mouldy by Christmas ?

Faith

Just drizzle a couple of dessertspoonfuls over it every fortnight or so.

vicwatson

And it be good to Christmas? Suppose the alcohol acts as a preserving agent

Faith

Fruit cakes last for bloody years! Don't forget to prick a few holes in it with a cocktail stick before drizzling over the alcohol.

phormium

The sugar in the fruit preserves the cake, they will last for ages even with no alcohol.

vicwatson

phormium wrote: »

The sugar in the fruit preserves the cake, they will last for ages even with no alcohol.

Ages? as in from now to Christmas ??

Faith

vicwatson wrote: »

Ages? as in from now to Christmas ??

As in, from now to several years from now probably. People pick away at fruit cakes for months after they get them, and they've been made weeks to months before people first cut into them. Wrap it up well, stored it in a tin or container in a cool place and it'll be grand. Please stop worrying about it.

phormium

Absolutely, at Christmas it will only be a young thing! Will last for years stored correctly, I have some 18 month old fruit cake at the moment, delicious. (And I put no alcohol on it after baking, fruit was steeped in it beforehand but nothing afterwards)

vicwatson

Faith wrote: »

As in, from now to several years from now probably. People pick away at fruit cakes for months after they get them, and they've been made weeks to months before people first cut into them. Wrap it up well, stored it in a tin or container in a cool place and it'll be grand. Please stop worrying about it.

Ha! too right I'll worry, it cost me about 15 euro in ingredients thus far, and about a tenner in electricity to cook it, last thing I want is to open it in a months time and it's manky mouldy !! :D

B0jangles

I used to use an old Mrs Beeton rich christmas cake recipe, but I switched to the Delia one about 3 years ago and everyone thinks it's a better cake.

Also I have never bothered with the whole "feeding" thing and the cake is always absolutely fine; I baked two last year - one for christmas and one for my Dad's birthday in late May and the May one was even better than the christmas one.

Just baked this year's one yesterday

Kinda think of baking another one today, I still have most of the ingredients lying around...

Stench Blossoms

Has anyone got a recipe for Chirstmas pudding?