Here is a delicious Christmas cake recipe for treating your friends and relative on Christmas. Historically, baking Christmas cakes is an English tradition that started with the serving of plum porridge on the Christmas eve. This was than transformed into cakes in the 16th century when butter, wheat flour and eggs were added. Than after this recipe was modified and people started adding dried fruits, almond sugar and spices and the basic recipe of the Christmas cake was evolved over centuries.

For this christmas, here is the delicous and mouth watering recipe to treat your family, relatives and friends.

Ingredients:

Raisins approximately 1 1/2 cups

Currants 2 cups

Sultanas 1 1/2 cups

Almonds 1/2 cup

Mixed peel 3/4 cup

Cherries 1/2 cup - glace/candied

Grated rind 1/2 lemon

Juice 1 lemon

Cinnamon and Nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon each

Mixed spice 1 teaspoon

Black treacle 1 tablespoon

Butter 1 1/2 cups - Unsalted

Brown sugar 1 3/4 cups - Moist

Eggs 6

Flour 3 cups - Plain

Selected drink (Brandy, Rum or any Alcohol) 2 tablespoons

Directions:

- Grease a 9-10 inch tin.

- Cream butter, sugar and grated lemon rind until light and fluffy.

- Beat in eggs, one at a time.

- Mix dry ingredients together well.

- Soaked the dry fruits in the selected drink.

- Add to creamed butter and treacle etc and mix thoroughly.

- Add the selected drink (alcohol) and lemon juice (add a little extra if the mixture seems too stiff) to form a dropping consistency.

- Turn into lined tin, ensure there are no pockets of air and the surface of the mixture is flat.

- Tie a brown paper around the tin - approximately 3 inches above the rim of the tin.

- Place in oven one rung below the middle at 160 degrees centigrade.

- Bake for 2 hours and then reduce heat to 150 degrees centigrade for a further 1 1/2 - 2 hours.

- When cooled remove paper and turn cake upside down and make holes with a steel knitting needle or cocktail stick.

- Pour in extra spirit and leave cake upside down until the spirit has been absorbed.

- Wrap the cake in fresh grease proof paper and leave for at least 48 hours before icing.

- Before icing, the cake can be stored for up to 2 months wrapped in foil.

- Feed the cake with selected drink and put almond icing and then royal icing onto it.

Christmas cakes can be made in many different ways, but generally they are variations on classic fruitcake. They can be light, dark, moist, dry, heavy, spongy, leavened, unleavened, etc. They are made in many different shapes, with frosting, glazing, a dusting of confectioner’s sugar or plain
Merry Christmas !!

By Food Recipes