Ted's Christmas Cake

This is a very simple recipe for Christmas Cake, best made in October and allowed to keep for a couple of months. Being traditional it is in imperial units.

Brandy

One bottle

Quantity, not quality, is what counts. What is not used is drunk!

Fruit

1/2 lb currants
1/2 lb sultanas
4 oz glacé cherries (chopped into 1/8ths)
2 oz mixed peel
1 desert spoon marmalade
5 drops almond essence

Mix fruit in a bowl and soak in brandy for at least 24 hours (I allow 48 hours).

Flour

1/2 lb plain flour
1 oz ground almond
1/2 teaspoon mixed spice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Mix the above in a bowl, and sieve onto the fruit. Mix with a wooden spoon - virtually all the flour vanishes, but do not be tempted to add more. However make sure all the fruit is coated.

Eggs

4 eggs

Warm to room temperature and beat in a bowl.

Butter and Sugar

1/2 lb soft demerara sugar
1/2 lb butter

Warm butter to room temperature, add the sugar and beat to a creamy mixture - a food processor saves a lot of arm ache. Put it in a large bowl.

Add 1 tablespoon beaten egg and 1 tablespoon fruit/flour at a time to the butter/sugar mixing well (this must be done by hand with a wooden spoon).

Put in an 8 inch tin lined with greased paper.

Cook at as low a temperature as possible for as long as possible - the original recipe called for 4 hours in a very slow oven. However our old fan oven either burns it or does not cook it! I heated the oven to 130°C, bake for 1 hour at 120°C, and half an hour at 110°C. The new oven cooks it in 3 hours at 120°C.

Allow to cool, remove paper, wrap in foil and put in a tin.

Feed with brandy two weeks before eating.

Return to Home Page