The Classic Christmas Cake Recipe

It's that time of year again where leaves start to fall, the wind gets chillier and it's soon time to make the Christmas cake. Traditionally you are meant to bake it 8 weeks ahead of time...and I have to be honest, I hate fruit cake, with a passion. But my nan is coming for Christmas and she absolutely loves it, and I do love tradition so why not. They are some really quirky and fun ways to decorate them now too so I will at least have fun with that.

This recipe may not be as good as Nigella's but it's a classic in our family and as far as I know my mum has been baking from it for 38 years! So it's stood the test of time...and nan approved so you can't go wrong with that really. This recipe comes from  The Dairy Book Of Home Cookery, this book has been so used it's actually falling apart and used to belong to my nan before my mum got it so god knows how many times it's been sifted through. This is the book I go to when I want the good proper home cooking recipes that you don't need about 30 ingredients and 12 hours for, they're just great recipes that always work. I do have my own copy but it's more new looking and hasn't been covered in butter or milk yet so it still looks too pristine.

I will actually try some of the Christmas cake this year, even though I hate marzipan I will give it a go. To make it a bit more fun we baked it in a heart shaped tin to revamp it a bit.

Ingredients:

• 225g plain flour
• 1 level tsp mixed spice
• 1/2 level tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 level tsp grated nutmeg
• 1 level tsp cocoa powder
• 175g butter
• 175 soft brown sugar
• 1 level tbsp black treacle
• 1 level tsp each finely grated orange and lemon rind
• 4 eggs
• 550g mixed dried fruits (currant, sultanas and seedless raisins)
• 100g chopped mixed peel
• 50g shelled walnut halves or blanched almonds
• 50g chopped dates
• 50g chopped glace cherries
• 1 tbsp milk
• 2 tablespoons brandy

Method:

1. Prepare  20cm/8inch round of square tin (or heart!)
2. Sift in flour with spice, cinnamon, grated nutmeg and cocoa
3. Cream butter with sugar, treacle and lemon and orange rind
4. Beat in whole eggs, one at a time, adding tablespoon of sifted dry ingredients with each
5. Stir in currants, sultanas, raisins, chopped peel, nuts dates and cherries and also the brandy (some say to soak it overnight but it can be a bit overwhelming when all you do over Christmas is drinking anyway! But you can if you want)
6. Fold in dry ingredients alternately with milk
7. Transfer to prepared tin and smooth top with knife
8. Bake in center of slow oven (150 degrees celcius / 300 degrees fahrenheit - Gas mark 2) for 4 - 4 1/2 hours or until a skewer comes out clean
9. Leave in tin for 15 minutes before turning out onto a wire wrack
10. When completely cold, wrap in aluminium foil and store in airtight tin until needed
11. Makes 20 - 30 portions
12. Eat in 8 weeks! Nom!

Obviously we won't be decorating it until Christmas time, so stay tuned to see the final design. Pin It Now!

Somerset Apple Cider Cake

Recently I've been doing a lot of Victoria Sponge cakes, or chocolate sponges etc, one thing I never bake is a cake that has fruit it in, I'm not usually a big fan. I think the fear comes from Christmas fruit cake which I cannot stand, I'm on of those people do that 'yuck face' whenever any time of fruit cake is mentioned.

So I thought it was time to change this, it was really cold yesterday when I got in from work and it actually felt a bit wintery, so naturally I needed to bake to fill the house with heat and a yummy smell. So to break my no-fruit baking streak I went through one of my favourite recipe books 'The Great British Book of Baking' that came out with last year's series of The Great British Bake Off (which I also love! and unfortunately failed to get passed the audition stage, but if someone is going to brutally kill your bread it may as well be Paul Hollywood!) anyway, I love this book! It features many from the series and lots other British classics with stunning photography, history and great techniques. This is where I found this Somerset Apple Cider Recipe, I changed it a little for preference when it came to apples and sugar but that's about it. I loved the idea of putting cider in a cake, this helped ease the thought process of putting fruit it in too!

This cake only took me 30 minutes to make before putting it in the oven, it also recommends you bake it for an hour as I did this too, came out perfect! I also nearly never have right right size actual tins so I often end up baking them in my biscuit/cake tins!

Ingredients: for a 23cm spring form tin (greased and lined)

• 175 unsalted butter, softened
• 175g light brown muscovado sugar (I used Tate & Lyle soft brown sugar- gorgeous!)
• 3 free range eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten
• 250g self raising flour (I always use plain and add baking powder)
• 100ml Cider, choose a well flavoured apple one so the taste really comes through, I used Henry Westons 2010 Vintage
• 500s tart eating apples, peeled, cored and diced (I used cooking apples for the stronger flavour, and kept them in segments rather than dicing)
• 2 tablespoons demerara sugar to sprinkle with (again I used the soft brown sugar)

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 160 degrees celcius/325 Fahrenheit/gas mark.
2. Beat together sugar and butter until light and fluffy.
3. Gradually add the eggs, beating well after each one.
4. Sift the flour on to the mixure and gently fold in with a large metal spoon, when partially mixed in add the apples and cider before fully combining.
5. Spread the mixture evenly into the tin, sprinkle with the sugar and bake for an hour, until a toothpick comes out clean.
6. Eat warm for full nom!

While I would still say I would always choose chocolate or lemon over fruit, I did enjoy this cake, you could actually taste the cider and the apples weren't as mushy as I thought they would be. It was really moist and hasn't dried out despite being cut all day. The sugar on top once it has caramelised was simply gorgeous - it really made the cake I think! I will continue trying to convert myself into cakes like these....what to try next? Pin It Now!