Christmas Cake 2010

Christmas Cake 2010

3 Jan 2011

Have you heard about the Driver Reviver campaign? The drive from Brisbane to Sydney is more than 12 hours, so I stopped a few times for my reviving cup of tea. At the second stop, instead of a biscuit they were serving Lions Christmas cake. I normally forgo the biscuit but I gratefully accepted a piece of fruit cake.That piece of cake sustained me through the last 3 hours of the journey home.

Fruit cake is one of those cakes that you either love or loathe. I do like fruit cake but it must be moist and the worst review you can ever give a fruit cake is 'it's a bit dry'. I've been making the family Christmas Cake since I was 16 and I've only tried a handful of recipes in all that time. Our christmas cake is a rich dark fruit cake, a traditional cake we inherited from Britain. The fruit cake is a celebration cake used to make christening cakes as well as wedding cakes and is normally topped with marzipan and royal icing. Here is a recipe from Delia Smith - it's not the one I use but it's not dissimilar.

I made the cake at the end of November and took it home with me to Brisbane. My parents cut the cake a few days ago and it was given a tick of approval. My own slab has been wrapped and placed in the feeezer to prevent parental nibbling.



The recipe makes a bit too much batter to comfortably fit into a 9 inch tin so there's always enough left over to make a teeny tiny cake to tide me over.

So welcome to 2011, the start of a New Year. I brought the New Year in with friends down at the Manly Esplanade in Sydney watching the fireworks. It was a perfect night and a lovely way to see in the New Year. I hope you enjoyed your own New Year's Eve celebrations.

Meanwhile, spare a thought for my fellow Queenslanders who are battling massive floodwaters. I saw the flooding first hand on my drive home last week. It's truly heartbreaking,

Jillian

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The Christmas Cake

The Christmas Cake

9 Nov 2009

Every year I make the family Christmas cake and it's become a bit of a ritual. It requires a bit of pre-planning because it's all about the preparation of the fruit. This year I even candied my own fruit rind and I can't wait to see how the cake tastes. I slowly accumulate the fruit over a few shopping trips; weigh and chop the dried fruit; then wash and soak it three times in boiling water before soaking the mixture in rum.

A good fruit cake needs time to mature and I usually make the cake about 2 months before Christmas and I don't think the cake has ever been cut before the end of January and often even later than that. The cake darkens with time so the pictures you see here are not the final product.

Sometimes there is a little mixture left over and I make a little cake specially for the cook. Keep that a secret from my family who always insist on me taking some cake home from Brisbane, not knowing I have my own little cake waiting for me at home.

P.S. I want to give a big thanks to Holly of decor8 blog for featuring my photos of Anna Spiro's shop, Black and Spiro on decor8.

Until the next time,

Jillian

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Christmas Cake

Christmas Cake

16 Nov 2008

In my imagination Christmas involves snow, mistletoe, fir trees and a figgy pudding. The reality in Brisbane involves 30 degree plus heat better suited to watermelon and a swim followed by a bbq than turkey and pudding. My Dad makes the pudding whilst I'm in charge of the Christmas cake and the mince pies.
I normally make the cake about 6 weeks before Christmas and I've been in charge of making the fruitcake since I was 16, taking over the role from my Grandmother. I tried out a few recipes before finding this version by Margaret Costa in Cake and Pastries, Technique and Recipes, part of The Good Cook a Time Life series. The recipe has been much modified over the years to reflect my family's preference for a cake without cherries and icing and to withstand the humidity of an Australian summer. We all remember the year I perfected the blue vein sour cherry Christmas cake!

The secret to a good fruitcake is all in the preparation and I started my fruitcake preparations a few weeks ago. Every week I'd buy dried fruits, nuts, flour and spices so come the day I'd be ready. I planned to bake the cake on Sunday and as I needed to wash then soak the fruit in brandy, I checked through my provisions on Saturday morning (just after returning from my weekly grocery shop) to discover that I'd bought natural sultanas instead of currants and needed to return to the shops. Bondi Junction shops late Saturday afternoon. I prepared the fruit last night, lined the tin with many layers of paper, measured, sifted, grated and generally did everything last night except bake the cake. I woke ridiculously early this morning and had the cake in the oven by 6.20 a.m. 4 hours later with the flat smelling of fruit and spices, the cake was ready. The cake is still cooling on a rack as I type this, waiting to be wrapped, sealed and stored until I return to Brisbane for Christmas.



We're always so full at Christmas time, that the cake isn't cut until well into the New Year. After 2 months maturation, the cake should be rich, moist and delicious. 

I'll let you all know how this year's version turns out,

Jillian

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