Are there any bakers here? Is any body here making their own Christmas Cake?

3 Owls in a Coat

🎄 After a gap of a few years I finally have time on my hands to bake again.

I am starting to organise what's required for Christmas Cakes. I will definitely bake a Delia cake and perhaps if somebody has a nice recipe to recommend, I could make that also.

I am not a fan of puddings though. The eating yes, but not of all the steam involved so will won't go down that path.

I am also going to try mincemeat and a couple of chutneys.

Is Christmas Cake making still a thing, or has supermarket Christmas Menus (Nothing wrong with them!!) taken over?

🎄

Addmagnet

I am not a fan of puddings though. The eating yes, but not of all the steam involved so will won't go down that path.

The microwave will do the job, and in less time.

e.g. https://thegreatbritishbakeoff.co.uk/recipes/all/prue-leith-last-minute-christmas-pudding/

(I make sponge cakes in the microwave, they are fantastic!)

tscul32

I make a few cakes every year. Sometimes do the puds, not a fan myself but close family love them. My profile pic is last year's main cake.

3 Owls in a Coat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120958529#Comment_120958529

Do you mind me asking what recipes do you use or are they hand me downs? My mother makes 2 cakes every year but doesn't have the recipe written down and doesn't have the patience to dictate it to me😏

3 Owls in a Coat

Also - is there such a thing as being to early to make a cake?

tscul32

As long as there's plenty of booze in it, any time from october would be fine. Probably be good for months but you need to feed it, i.e. douse with more alcohol, and store it properly.

I use my grandmother's recipe and one I got on a baking course.

Smell the glove

My wife makes cakes for my parents are her own. I think she makes them at the end of September. They must be nice because my father will very rarely give a slice of his away 🤣

freshpopcorn

One tip i would give would be buy the own brand ground almonds.

DvB

We bake loads of fruit based bits and always use dunnes or tescos own brand dried fruit and have never noticed a difference. Less than half the price of the branded versions.

freshpopcorn

I'd also suggest knowing your oven and having your tin correctly lined.

A cup of te

Storing properly is v important. Last year we couldn't get the usual greaseproof paper, had to get a cheaper one and when we opened up the puddings to feed them they were all mouldy which never happened before. We'd wrap in greaseproof paper and then tinfoil over that. My mother is the expert on the cake and the pudding but she lets me help. I love cooking and I think you can never go far wrong with any of Mary Berry's recipes. I make mince pies too from a recipe I got online. I posted it last year on some thread.

But, yeah, it wouldn't be Christmas for me without the cake and almond icing and the royal icing (not fondant) on it and the cake toppers like a snowman, a Santa and a merry christmas topper and a christmassy cake frill all around it! I just have to have that.

I have to have mince pies, puddings and sherry trifle too. I make tiramisu for the fussy ones. Bought Christmas cakes and puds (in my opinion) are not a patch on your own unless maybe if you bought from a good bakery or handmade stuff from a stall.

DvB

My mum always stored her Christmas puds and cake in jute sacking and greaseproof paper, then hung them in the storage cabinet in the kitchen only to come out when having additional alcohol added. Never had an issue with them. Such a shame she doesn't bother anymore as so few eat them.

CheerLouth

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120967051#Comment_120967051

I'd go one better on this and say that if you can get to an Asian supermarket, you'll get a big bag of ground almonds at next to nothing, compared to the likes of Dunnes & Tescos

tscul32

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120982083#Comment_120982083

The spices too

washiskin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120959327#Comment_120959327

No, as long as you feed it , top and bottom , regularly.

washiskin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058308633/are-there-any-bakers-here-is-any-body-here-making-their-own-christmas-cake

If you want a puddingy cake the Nigella Chocolate fruit cake is the one to go for. Easy to make, texture of both cake and pudding.

I can also highly recommend the Delia Smith Christmas Chutney - it's perfect with cheese and meat.

3 Owls in a Coat

I'm so glad that there are people willing to share the tips - interesting about the puddings going mouldy - were they sweating in the paper?

limnam

Nigel Slaters - Christmas Chronicles is great for all sorts of Christmas recipes and ideas.

I've done the christmas cake from it and was excellent

pigtail33

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120979088#Comment_120979088

The same thing happened me last year. I made two puddings, one week apart, using the exact same recipe. One had some mould on it when opened on Christmas Day and the other one was fine. They were both wrapped the same and stored side by side, so it wasn't a room temp issue. No idea why it happened to one and not the other, perhaps there was different greaseproof paper used.

moceri

Delia has a great recipe for Creole Christmas Cake.

https://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/occasions/christmas/christmas-cakes-icings-and-toppings/creole-christmas-cake

Neyite

I do my cake with spiced rum and some grated chocolate. It was a good housekeeping recipe I found some years ago.

Another idea if it interests you is to do a gingerbread dough and freeze it in the next few months - I think my recipe is the Donal Skeehan one, and start stocking up on the decorative sweeties if they last that long in your house. It's a lovely activity with kids to build gingerbread creations.

freshpopcorn

Some of our cakes. We make our own Marzipan and Royal Icing but we don't add glycerin to it because some a presents and we want them to last.

A cup of te

Oh, wow, those are fabulous looking cakes. Love how they're presented. A1! Would love a slice right now with my tea!

Edit: regards the mould. My mam is the director in the kitchen and I merely help her out and she maintains it was the cheap greaseproof paper. Remember last year some items were just unavailable at times and she had to buy this cheaper stuff that was almost white rather than the yellowy greaseproof paper. It never ever happened before in all her 30+ years doing them! The paper I guess was the only different thing so we're presuming it was that.

freshpopcorn

Could an issue be using baking paper instead of greaseproof paper?

A cup of te

Could be that. Not sure! Either way we've got the greaseproof paper but we're a bit late making them this year. I reckon some weekend in September now we'll get cracking!

freshpopcorn

I saw these in Aldi last night. It can be hard to get yellow and green cherries.

Oscar_Madison

I use my mothers Christmas cake recipe which was excellent but I put in a fair amount more booze into it.

In terms of the ingredients I’m actually a brand snob when it comes to a cake I only make once a year so only the top quality ingredients for me I’m afraid-

I know this differs to some thinking above by another poster above but for me, some cheaper ingredients impact the overall taste of the cake - I know the taste I want and I just don’t get that from some of the cheaper ingredients

freshpopcorn

Edit

Madd002

Made one 2/3yrs ago for my mam as she was complaining that all Xmas cakes from shops are dry and crumbly and only done with fondant icing not to mention price of them, her sister sent one every year when we were younger so she never needed to bake one. Anyhow I made a Delia one from an old cookbook in October and fed with paddy powers every 2wks wrapped in greaseproof paper double layer and double layer of tinfoil, placed in a airtight cake tin. I presented to her wk before Xmas and she was delighted as it was very like ones we received years ago. It was lovely and moist and didn't last long..!! Not bad for a first timer. Going to do a couple this year😊

Oscar_Madison

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121032067#Comment_121032067

Well done- yeah the first time is the most daunting.

Does anyone here line the tin with brown paper? That’s what I’ve been doing, essentially following my mums method - I cut out about 4-5 layers of round circles and then cut out the side layers again about 4-5 layers - then line with grease proof paper- it helps stop the base and sides from burning whilst the center of the cake keeps cooking

Fir me it’s actually the longest part of the cake making process 🤪- so I do the cutting out when I’m in the mood then it’s all set and ready to go when I get some motivation for the baking.

Also- booze- brandy good Irish whiskey and a bit of rum all in together make a great flavour

tscul32

I use double greaseproof and double brown paper on mine. Most of my ingredients are own brand, have never found a difference in taste, and I've been making them for 20 years, sometimes up to 9 or 10 a year. The price difference is colossal so unless a particular ingredient is noticeably inferior. But I'm also the opposite of a brand snob, as long as I like something I don't care what brand it is.

freshpopcorn

We generally double line the tin. We've a good quality tin now.

Before when we had an older tin we used also line it with a cut up cereal box.

pigtail33

I still double line my tin, two layers of parchment on the inside and two layers of brown paper on the outside. I have read that it's no longer necessary though as the heat in modern ovens is a lot less intense, compared to years ago. I've always done it, as did my mother, and for the sake of a few extra minutes, I don't want to risk it burning!

I used to always buy Shamrock brand dried fruit, but found the quality went down a few years ago, now it's Dunnes own brand, all the way. Apart from the dark brown sugar, none of the own brands are as dark and as the Shamrock one.

Oscar_Madison

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121033661#Comment_121033661

If I was doing 9 or 10 cakes a year I wouldn’t be a brand snob either 😀

cobham

Lots of good tips here... I have given up in recent years as only one in house who like c cake and now Glutenfree. I used to make over Oct weekend when working. Washed the fruit first, dried off in linen towel then soak in whiskey and some orange juice and leave for couple of days til time to do mix. Check fruit and dont make mistake of 'pippy' currants like in my last cake. I made a wedding cake recipe once that called for a tin of strawberries! Yes plenty of protection for the tin when in oven even a lid for top of newspaper/greaseproof paper = removed toward end of cook time. Strong brown paper for outside of tin if you can find it... double layer. Shallow basin of water in bottom of oven helps too...

tscul32

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121034018#Comment_121034018

My grandmother's recipe has tinned strawberries in it too

cobham

I think the strawberry recipe was one from Ranks Flour company ( 40 yrs ago?). The regular recipe I used to make was from a booklet supplied by Stork but used butter instead of stork.

phormium

One of the first Christmas cakes I made back in I'd say 1977ish had a tin of strawberries too and some dark chocolate, it was a recipe from the nuns! The only one I saw since with the strawberries was a Brenda Costigan one but not really the same I didn't think.

I never 'feed' my Christmas cakes and they last a long time, there is alcohol in with the ingredients alright for flavour, it's the sugar content of mainly the dried fruit that preserves it, the lighter the cake on fruit the shorter it's life span. Same with puddings, make a 'low sugar' version and it will go mouldy, I do make a low sugar one but freeze it. As well as that modern houses can often be just too warm for safe storing of fruit cakes longterm, different years ago when houses were a lot less insulated and plenty of draughts. I keep mine under the stairs in the hall as that is definitely the coolest place in my house anyway. Kitchen presses are usually a bad place, even worse can be utility room if clothes are being dried in their, too much moist air.

cobham

We have a north facing room that is never heated and it makes good storage place, we call it the freezer room.

tscul32

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121034309#Comment_121034309

My granny's one must be older than that, she was making it when I was a baby and that was a bit more than 40 years ago. She's gone over 30 years now but I still use her handwritten recipe and her Mason and Cash bowl every year.

freshpopcorn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121034190#Comment_121034190

We've a receipe that contains tinned Strawberries.

It was by a woman called Brenda Costigan. I think she's in the Irish version of the WI.

She must have been on Live a 3 in the mid 90's.

My mother mailed them a stamped addressed envelope and they sent her her receipies.

https://m.independent.ie/life/recipes-brenda-costigan-with-plum-pudding-rich-fruit-cake-and-chocolate-yule-log/26800429.html

cobham

Are tins of strawberries available these days?

tscul32

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121040277#Comment_121040277

Yep, I get my annual tin in tesco, use half for the cake and bin the rest cos they're disgusting!!

freshpopcorn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121040723#Comment_121040723

Does it ad much to the cake?

phormium

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121040723#Comment_121040723

Had to laugh at this! It's true of course, I often wonder does anyone actually buy tinned strawberries to eat or just to use in some sort of recipe as they are so awful it's hard to imagine what you'd do with them. Although I do have a friend who makes her strawberry cheesecake with them, couple of tins whizzed up with a strawberry jelly and some cream, had to choke it down a couple of times!

As to what they add to cake, it's moistness mainly, the recipe I used to have had dark chocolate too, don't know what that added other than darkening colour maybe. Think a tin of prunes might do same thing if liquidised, I'd eat the other half tin with custard but some think prunes gross too!

DvB

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121040723#Comment_121040723

I genuinely smiled at that, I remember my elderly great aunts used to regularly get tinned fruit in syrup as a treat with some cream, and one time it was the turn of tinned strawberries, well whatever my child's eyes & mind were expecting were shattered when I saw the contents of the tin being poured into a bowl... yuck. I remember tasting them too, and they were vile mushy sickly sweet things.... double yuck. I admire anyone even using them in a recipe for cake, i love my fruitcake far too much to have something that yucky potentially spoil it. If it needed sweetness I'd add golden syrup or brown sugar to avoid that monstrosity potenially ruin the cake for me.

tscul32

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121040779#Comment_121040779

I honestly don't know. I make if for my dad's family and they all say its exactly like "how mammy made it". For ourselves I use a recipe I got in a baking class. I always mix up the fruit depending on what I have or spot in the shops. So there could be dried cranberries/crystallised ginger or pineapple/apricots or whatever, on top of the usual raisin/currant/sultana/cherries/mixed peel/dates.

pigtail33

A friend of mine once gave me a very old fruit cake recipe that his brother was almost famous in their family for making. It has the tinned strawberries, but also gravy browning in it! It says to put a small container of water into the oven while it's baking, to keep it moist. I don't think I've ever seen that recommendation in modern recipes.

The recipe is barely legible, but it's from Ranks Home Baking Advisory Service. There's a note at the bottom saying they had a radio programme on RTE every week.

CheerLouth

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121041273#Comment_121041273

Gravy browning - must be to give it a good dark colour! Madness & now it's actually super hard to get gravy browning, seems to be a shortage of late!

@cobham I also use the stork recipe booklet; has never let me down. I do have the ICA Christmas book & I keep saying I must make one of the Christmas cakes out of it. I made Porter Cake from it a few years ago but it wasn't as nice as my Christmas cake.

cobham

I would use muscovado or molasses brown sugar to give decent colour. I would add in dried fruit to the right weight. I like nuts too and am generous with those but then other family dont 'do' nuts and someone else did not like glace cherries and now gluten free requirement so I have given up. Same goes for Christmas pud but Aldi do a decent mini GF one and can be reheated in microwave ( even cooked fully there if making from scratch).

pigtail33

With all the talk of Christmas cakes, I picked up the first few packets of fruit today for my Christmas baking. I like to add a few packets each week, so it doesn't seem as expensive. Dunnes have always had the baking products 3 for 2, but not this year unfortunately. I usually get started on the baking around the end of September, so I should have enough bought for at least one of the cakes by then.