To the tune Shakermaker by Oasis
Hooray- it is time for my favourite half term activity!
Bake along with me if you wish! My recipe is based on the Rachel Allen Bake
First up, soak the dried fruits overnight/ as long as you want! This year I used 225g raisins, 225g mixed dried fruit, 100g cranberries, 50g dates, 25g crystalised ginger, 100g cherries, 50g figs. I chopped up the larger fruits so they were all roughly the same size, then covered in 125ml brandy/ whisky/ something like that.
The fruit will plump up the longer you leave it. I changed up the dried fruit from the recipe- it included dried apricots, sultanas, mixed peel (I find it easier to add mixed dried fruit)- this year I added figs as well as cranberries and cherries to the mix. You could use currants etc too.
Preheat the oven to 150C, and line the tin/ tins you will use. This mixture does make one big cake, but as I give them away I prefer to make 2 smaller ones with it.
Then in a big bowl (it does need to be a big bowl!) cream the butter (275g at room temp- I left it out while I went on a run + had a shower + lunch).
Then add in 275g soft brown sugar and mix again. I tried it with my mixer but I prefer it by hand, so got out my wooden spoon for the rest of it!
Add 5 eggs, one at a time, and mix each one in well.
Then add 2 tsb molasses (I added this to give it a richer more treacley flavour) and mix in again.
Then add some grated orange zest and 50g ground almond.
Then sift on 275g plain flour and whatever spices you like. I added 1 tsp mixed spice, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/t tsp cloves, 1/4 tsp ginger and a little grated nutmeg. Be careful not to drop your nutmeg into the bowl. Ahem.
Then add the dried fruit and any liquid left in the bowl. Mix some more!
Yum! You will have a dark coloured smooth mixture filled with bright jewels of dried fruit. Give it a special stir and make a wish! 🙂
Spoon into the pans. I had a lot of batter, so I made some in mini loaf cases too (this also may stop Andy from buying them from Aldi!).
The little ones took 40 mins before a skewer came out clean- for the last 10 mins I cover them in silver foil.
After an hour I took the big ones out and covered them in foil.
I used baking beans to hold the foil down- last year I had trouble with the warm air pushing the foil off.
In total these took about 2 1/2 hours, but a larger tin will take longer, up to 3 1/4 hours. Just check every now and then. And enjoy the lovely smell.
Keep them covered in foil until they cool (this helps to stop them drying out). Then store in an airtight container until you want to ice them.
I get to do it all again tomorrow with the other lot of dried fruit too!
I might practise my sugarcraft on these cuties this week 🙂
Join me later in the year when I cover them in marzipan, icing, decorations or almond paste. (That should be read out in a sort of voice over voice- you know, like on the TV).
I love love love making Christmas cakes. When I was little we always made hampers for our grandparents-things like home-made jam and marmalade, and of course a home-made Christmas cake (which my Mum let us decorate with coloured icing!). So doing it at this time of year makes me feel quite nostalgic. As I make a few of them for gifts it also gives me time to think of the people I am making it for (and the people I used to make them for who are no longer with us).
See my posts from last year with my previous cakes if you fancy it.
Do you love making Christmas cakes? Anything you do which makes you feel nostalgic?
Christmas cake is my favourite! My Dad makes one every year that he enters into a local competition (basically a load of the village men from down the pub). He takes a very long time to eat it though – I think he’s still getting through the 2009 vintage. It’s great the longer you leave it.
I would love to do something like that! We never start eating ours until Christmas day (if we are at home- or later if we go away on holiday!) so it lasts ages and ages! 🙂
I love Christmas cake. I think it;s wayyyy better than Christmas pudding. I cannot wait to see your cakes finished and iced!
Yay thanks 🙂 I look forward to it too, but that will be a bit closer to December!
I feel all christmassy now!
Hooray!
That pic of the molasses going in looks so good! Me and my Mam would always make cheese scones around Christmas time and lots of baking in general. I really want to make some vegan cheese scones!
You have a lot of vegan baking to be getting on with!
Looks delicious – and you’re so on top of things!
Ah thanks 🙂
I love making Christmas cakes – or more accurately, I love my mum making them! Like you, the delicious rich smell takes me straight back… my mum always used to do it on “stir-up Sunday” and get us all to have a stir for luck 🙂
I love the process pictures, they look great!
Oh yeah I forgot about Stir up Sunday- although isn’t that meant for the Christmas pudding? I don’t know 🙂 Thanks about the pics too- I love recipe books with lots of pictures so I know I am doing it right!
I haven’t made a christmas cake for years. No-one in my house likes it except me and I can’t abide waste so would end up eating it all! My mum used to make one and cut me off a slab to make up for it but she doesn’t do that anymore 🙁 Decorating the cake was always my job at home, right from when I was quite little.
I really should learn not to read your blog late at night, it always makes me want a midnight feast!
Rosexx
You should make some mini ones this year 🙂 Just for you.
Wanna mail one over here? 😀
I’ve actually never eaten anything like this!! Looks delicious though.
You have never eaten fruit cake!!!!! Crazy! Not even at a wedding?
I love the idea of a Christmas cake bake-a-long! I might join you this weekend if I can be organised enough to buy the ingredients and make time. My boyfriend and I absolutely LOVE Christmas/fruit cake (well, the marzipan is my favourite bit if I’m honest!) and my mum usually makes one for us, but I would really like to try my own.
I know exactly what you mean about baking making you feel nostalgic, I always feel that way about Christmas baking. Ever since I can remember I’ve been the mince pie baker in the family and I really love that it’s become our family tradition. I can remember helping my granny make them when I was a wee girl 🙂
Yes make one this weekend Bronagh! You can sub any of the dried fruit and just buy a big bag of mixed dried fruit- so long as it makes up the same weight. Leave it to soak overnight and then mix it up the next morning! Let me know how you get on.