A little extra post. My friend Irene asked if it was too late to make a Christmas cake for this year, so I promised a couple of recipes for cakes that will be rich and moist even without a couple of months being fed with alcohol. I hope these will do the trick.
I don't really have a recipe for my usual rich fruit cake, as I always make it up as I go along. I generally put a mixture of dried fruits (sultanas, raisins, cherries, cranberries, apricots, prunes, blueberries - whatever takes my fancy) to soak in sherry or brandy or ginger wine so that by eye it looks about right to fill however many cake tins I need to fill and then stir it in to enough basic sponge mixture (sugar, flour, butter and eggs mixed well together) to bind the fruit, add cinnamon, nutmeg, ground ginger and ground cloves and bake on a low heat for 2 to 4 hours, depending on the size of the cake. One tip is to add some hot tea (I like to use spiced chai) to the soaking alcohol as the heat encourages the fruit to soak up the liquid, and it makes it a little cheaper. I always end up with enough mixture - so much I sometimes have to mix it in a clean washing-up bowl - and if I have too much I make up an extra mini cake or some muffin tin sized cakes.
Simmer-&-stir Christmas cake (bbcgoodfood.com)
Ingredients
175g butter , chopped
200g dark muscovado sugar
750g luxury mixed dried fruits (one that includes mixed peel and glacé cherries)
finely grated zest and juice of 1 orange
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
100ml/3½ fl oz cherry brandy or brandy plus 4tbsp more
85g macadamia nuts
3 large eggs , lightly beaten
85g ground almonds
200g plain flour
½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground mixed spice
1 tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground allspice
Method
1. Put the butter, sugar, fruit, zests, juice and 100ml/3½fl oz brandy in a large pan. Bring slowly to the boil, stirring until the butter has melted. Reduce the heat and bubble for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Remove the pan from the heat and leave to cool for 30 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 150C/gas 2/ fan 130C and line the cake tin. Toast the nuts in a dry frying pan, tossing them until evenly browned, or in the oven for 8-10 minutes - keep an eye on them as they burn easily. When they are cool, chop roughly. Stir the eggs, nuts and ground almonds into the fruit mixture and mix well. Sift the flour, baking powder and spices into the pan. Stir in gently, until there are no traces of flour left.
4. Spoon the mixture into the tin and smooth it down evenly - you will find this is easiest with the back of a metal spoon which has been dipped into boiling water.
5. Bake for 45 minutes, then turn down the heat to 140C/gas 1/ fan120C and cook for a further 1-1¼ hours (about a further 1¾ hours if you have a gas oven) until the cake is dark golden in appearance and firm to the touch. Cover the top of the cake with foil if it starts to darken too much. To check the cake is done, insert a fine skewer into the centre - if it comes out clean, the cake is cooked.
6. Make holes all over the warm cake with a fine skewer and spoon the extra 4tbsp brandy over the holes until it has all soaked in. Leave the cake to cool in the tin. When it's cold, remove it from the tin, peel off the lining paper, then wrap first in baking parchment and then in foil. The cake will keep in a cupboard for up to three months or you can freeze it for six months.
7. Put the butter, sugar, fruit, zests, juice and 100ml/3½fl oz brandy in a large pan. Bring slowly to the boil, stirring until the butter has melted. Reduce the heat and bubble for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
8. Remove the pan from the heat and leave to cool for 30 minutes.
9. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 150C/gas 2/ fan 130C and line the cake tin. Toast the nuts in a dry frying pan, tossing them until evenly browned, or in the oven for 8-10 minutes - keep an eye on them as they burn easily. When they are cool, chop roughly. Stir the eggs, nuts and ground almonds into the fruit mixture and mix well. Sift the flour, baking powder and spices into the pan. Stir in gently, until there are no traces of flour left.
10. Spoon the mixture into the tin and smooth it down evenly - you will find this is easiest with the back of a metal spoon which has been dipped into boiling water.
11. Bake for 45 minutes, then turn down the heat to 140C/gas 1/ fan120C and cook for a further 1-1¼ hours (about a further 1¾ hours if you have a gas oven) until the cake is dark golden in appearance and firm to the touch. Cover the top of the cake with foil if it starts to darken too much. To check the cake is done, insert a fine skewer into the centre - if it comes out clean, the cake is cooked.
12. Make holes all over the warm cake with a fine skewer and spoon the extra 4tbsp brandy over the holes until it has all soaked in. Leave the cake to cool in the tin. When it's cold, remove it from the tin, peel off the lining paper, then wrap first in baking parchment and then in foil. The cake will keep in a cupboard for up to three months or you can freeze it for six months.
For the pre-soaking
150ml brandy
1 x 400g (approximately) jar luxury mincemeat
110g no-soak prunes, roughly chopped
50g glace cherries, quartered
175g dried mixed fruit
50g whole candied peel, finely chopped
For the cake
225g self-raising flour
3 level teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1½ level teaspoons mixed spice
150g spreadable butter
150g dark muscovado sugar
3 large eggs
50g Brazil nuts, roughly chopped
50g mixed chopped nuts
zest of 1 small orange and 1 small lemon
For the topping
1 heaped tablespoon sieved apricot jam
1 tablespoon brandy
approximately 18 walnut halves, 18 pecan halves, 20 whole Brazils
You will also need a 20cm round loose-based cake tin, greased with base and side lined, plus some baking parchment
Even though this is last-minute, it's best to pre-soak the fruits if you can. So just measure them out into a bowl, give them a good stir, then cover with a cloth and leave somewhere cool overnight or for a minimum of 4 hours.
When you are ready to make the cake, pre-heat the oven to 170C, gas mark 3. Now all you do is sift the flour, baking powder, salt and mixed spice into a very large, roomy mixing bowl, then add the butter, sugar and eggs and beat with an electric hand whisk until everything is smooth and fluffy. Now gradually fold in the pre-soaked fruit mixture, chopped nuts and finally the grated lemon and orange zests. Now take a large spoon and spoon it into the prepared tin, levelling the top with the back of the spoon, then arrange the whole nuts in circles or rows on the surface.
Finally, take a double square of baking parchment with a 50p-sized hole in the centre (which gives it extra protection during the cooking) and place this not on the top of the mixture itself but on the rim of the liner. Bake the cake on the centre shelf of the oven for 2 hours or until the centre springs back when lightly touched. Cool the cake in the tin for 30 minutes, then remove it to a wire cooling tray to continue cooling.
While that's happening, heat the apricot, jam and brandy together and brush the nuts with this mixture to make them shiny and glossy. Store the cake in an airtight tin or in parchment-lined foil and it will keep beautifully.
When you are ready to make the cake, pre-heat the oven to 170C, gas mark 3. Now all you do is sift the flour, baking powder, salt and mixed spice into a very large, roomy mixing bowl, then add the butter, sugar and eggs and beat with an electric hand whisk until everything is smooth and fluffy. Now gradually fold in the pre-soaked fruit mixture, chopped nuts and finally the grated lemon and orange zests. Now take a large spoon and spoon it into the prepared tin, levelling the top with the back of the spoon, then arrange the whole nuts in circles or rows on the surface.
Finally, take a double square of baking parchment with a 50p-sized hole in the centre (which gives it extra protection during the cooking) and place this not on the top of the mixture itself but on the rim of the liner. Bake the cake on the centre shelf of the oven for 2 hours or until the centre springs back when lightly touched. Cool the cake in the tin for 30 minutes, then remove it to a wire cooling tray to continue cooling.
While that's happening, heat the apricot, jam and brandy together and brush the nuts with this mixture to make them shiny and glossy. Store the cake in an airtight tin or in parchment-lined foil and it will keep beautifully.
No comments:
Post a Comment