Rich Christmas Cake
Preamble
(From Margaret Fulton) "Christmas Cooking: Now is the time to start the Christmas cooking.
If made now and correctly stored, both cake and pudding will have time to mature and develop the wonderful flavours expected of them. Keep the cake in its wrappings with the paper from the tin still in place and store in an airtight container until ready to ice or decorate.
The pudding can have its second boiling on Christmas Day after being made and kept in the refrigerator.
Delicious fruit mince will also improve with keeping."
Ingredients
12 oz Raisins
12 oz Sultanas
4 oz mixed Peel
4 oz glace Cherries
2 oz glace Apricots
2 oz glace Pineapple
3 tablespoons Brandy
3 tablespoons Sherry
8 oz Butter
8 oz brown Sugar
Grated rind 1 Lemon
5 Eggs
1 tablespoon golden Syrup
2 tablespoons Marmalade
2 1/2 cups Flour
1 teaspoon mixed Spice
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon Salt
4 oz blanched Almonds
Extra Almonds
Extra Brandy
Method
First prepare fruit:
Wash raisins and sultanas separately and dy thoroughly. Chop raisins. Put into bowl with finely chopped peel. Cut cherries, apricots and pineapple into small dice, add to fruit in bowl. Sprinkle with brandy and sherry (or rum). Leave overnight.
Next day:
Beat butter and brown sugar with lemon rind until light and creamy. Add golden syrup and marmalade. Beat well. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Add 1 tablespoon flour with last egg. Sift together flour, spices and salt and sitr into creamed mixture alternately with fruit and chopped almonds.
Spoon mixture into an 8 inch square or round tin lined with 2 thicknesses each of brown and greased greaseproof paper. Arrange almonds in pattern on top. Bake in a slow oven about 4 hours or until cooked. Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle with about 1 tablespoon extra brandy. Remove cake from tin, leaving paper in place. Wrap in tea towels and leave until cool.
To ice cake:
If cake is to be iced, do not arrange almonds on top. Brush top of cake with slightly beaten egg-white. On a board dusted with icing sugar, roll out Almond Paste to cover top, put on cake and press gently with rolling pin. Leave several hours or overnight. Make Fondant Icing and roll out to fit top of cake. Brush almond paste with egg-white, put fondant icing on top. Decorate and put a cake frill around sides.
Almond Paste:
This quantity will cover top and sides of one 8 inch cake, or the tops only of two cakes.
1lb icing sugar
8 oz ground almonds or marzipan meal
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 egg-yolk
2 tablespoons sherry
few drops almond essence if liked.
Sift icing sugar, combine with ground almonds or marzipan meal. Mex together lemon juice, herry and egg-yolk. Mix into icing sugar nearly all at once to form a paste which can be rolled out. If mixture is too dry, add a little more sherry
Fondant Icing:
1 Ib icing sugar
2 oz liquid glucose
1 egg-white, flavouring.
Sift icing sugar, make a well in the centre and add glucose, egg-white and flavouring. Beat, drawing the icing sugar into the centre, until the mass is a stiff paste. Turn on to a board lightly dusted with icing sugar and knead into a paste. Use to cover top and side of one cake or tops only of two.
VariationsSee also one with
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