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Ashford, Kent, United Kingdom
“If more of us valued food and cheer above hoarded gold, it would be a much merrier world.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien ~ "I love to cook, to create platefuls of happiness, I find that there is no greater complement to a chef than silence while people are eating my food, it shows their enjoyment more that any complement words could express!" - The Ginger Hobbit.

Blog Archive

Saturday 12 September 2015

Christmas Cake.

Christmas Cake


This recipe we’ve been using for a long time in my family and it makes a wonderful rich fruity cake.
            This is ideal for a 8 inch in diameter by 3 inch deep cake tin, which needs to be greased then double lined with greaseproof paper, the paper should go more than 3 inches above the top of the cake tin.


Ingredients.

8oz self raising flour
2oz ground almonds
8oz butter
8oz soft brown sugar
4 eggs
Rounded teaspoon of mixed spice
½ teaspoon vanilla essence
½ teaspoon almond essence
50ml brandy
1lb Sultanas
¼lb Raisens
¼lb Currents
¼lb mixed peel
¼lb Glacé cherries


Method

  • blend in the sugar and butter – until light colour and creamy texture.
  • Stir in the flour, ground almonds with the eggs (one at a time).
  • Add the vanilla essence, almond essence, mixed peel, cherries and mixed spice.
  • Mix in the dried fruit (make sure you stir them in evenly throughout the mixture).

Put the mixture into the lined tin and place in your pre-heated oven, 120°c for 4 hours. Test with a skewer and turn out to cool on a rack.

Every few weeks "feed" the cake with a little extra brandy! Marzipan the cake two weeks before icing the cake. 



Merry Christmas!!!