OT Recipes Xmas Cake and mincemeat pie filing.

Cher's Christmas Cake Recipe this includes the marzipan recipe and the
Royal Icing
I found it easier to work by making up a table as I used to do
confectionary, Wedding Cakes etc for people and so this is how I do
it......

Tin 6" (15cm) 9" (25cm) 11"
(28cm)
Sizes Round or 5" round or 8" round
or 10" (13cm) square (20cm) square (25.5cm)
square

currants 8oz (225g) 11/4 lb (575g) 2lb (900g)

sultanas 3oz (75g) 8oz (225g) 12oz (350g)

raisins 3oz ( 75g) 8oz (225g) 12oz (350g)

glace' cherries rinsed
and finely chopped 1 ½ oz (40g) 2 ½ oz (60g) 4oz (110g)

brandy 3 tablespoons 4 tablespoons 6 tablespoons

plain flour 4oz (110g) 10oz (275g) 1lb (450g)

salt A pinch ½ teaspoon ½ teaspoon

freshly grated nutmeg 1/4 teaspoon ½ teaspoon ½ teaspoon

mixed spice 1/4 teaspoon 3/4 teaspoon 1 teaspoon

unsalted butter 4oz (110g) 10oz (275g) 1lb (450g)

dark soft brown sugar 4 oz ( 110g) 10oz ( 275g) 1lb (450g)

eggs medium 2 5 8

almonds chopped 1 ½ oz (40g) 2 ½ oz(60g) 4oz (110g)

black treacle 1 teaspoon 1 tablespoon 1 ½ tablespoons

grated lemon rind ½ lemon 1 large lemon 2 lemons

grated orange rind ½ orange 1 large Orange 2 Oranges

approx cooking times 3 ½ hours 4 ½ hours 5 ½ hours

The following method is used for all sizes of Cake

THE NIGHT BEFORE: Place all fruit and peel into a bowl and mix in the
brandy,(rum or Sherry) cover with a cloth and leave in the cool, so that the
fruits
soak up
the brandy.
Line a greased cake tin, with greased proof/cooking parchment paper, and
outer line the
tin
with brown wrapping paper tying securely with string.

Next Day - make your cake
Pre-heat Oven to 275deg F/140deg C or Gas Mark 1
I also warm the treacle slightly so that it runs easier.You can do this by
placing the tin in a bowl of hot water, or even in the oven for a short
while.

Now follow the Method, used for all sizes of cake

Method:
Sieve the flour, saltt and spices into a large mixing bowl, and then in a
separate bowl cream the butter and sugar together until the mixture is light
and fluffy. use an electric whisk if it helps with the larger size
Next beat up the eggs, and adding them to
the mixture a LITTLE AT A TIME beating them in thoroughly after each
addition. If the mixture looks as if it might separate prevent
this by adding a little of the flour.
Once all the eggs have been added, using a tablespoon, Fold in the
flour, gently. Stir in the fruit and peel that have been
soaking overnight in the brandy, then the nuts and treacle and the grated
lemon and orange rinds.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared cake tin, and spread it out evenly
with the back of the spoon. Make a slight indentation in the middle of the
cake to allow it to rise and become not too high.
I also add a cover of greased proof paper to fit the top of the cake, making
sure there
is are several holes in the top to allow the steam to escape. Now bake
the cake according to the table.
NO PEEKING at it for at least 4 and a hours please, or it will sink in the
middle.
When cooked, and you can check with a needle, by pushing it through the top
of the cake and seeing it comes out clean, put the cake still in it's tin
onto a wire rack leave for a couple of hours then gently ease the cake away
from the tin, and leave on the wire rack to go cold.
When the cake is COLD remove wrappings and store in new paper in an
airtight tin, or plastic tub. You can lace it with rum sherry or Brandy
during the next few weeks.
To do this, pierce the top of the cake with a fine darning needle, and
pour over a few teaspoons of your chosen spirir, to soak into the cake,
cover and store
again. Repeat this at intervals for a week or two.
After THREE weeks at the least you can cover the cake with an almond
(marzipan) paste, and
three weeks later with a Royal Icing. I can post these recipes and
decorative ideas too if you so wish. Let me know! - I did ...lol

ALMOND PASTE

Tin 6" (15cm) 9" (25cm)
11"
(28cm) round
Sizes or 5" or 8"
or 10"
(13cm) square (20cm) square
(25.5cm) square

ground almonds 8oz (225g) 1lb (450g) 1 ½ lb (700g)

icing sugar 4oz (110g) 8oz (225g) 12oz (350g)

castor sugar 4oz (110g) 8oz (225g) 12oz (350g)

almond essence 2 drops ½ teaspoon 1 teaspoon

lemon juice ½ teaspoon 1 teaspoon 2 teaspoons

brandy 1 dessertspoon 1-2 tablespoons 2-3 tablespoons

egg yolks 3 5 8

Apricot jam warmed and sieved

For those in America, don't know what you would call this type of
sugar, it
is fine powdered sugar, used for confectionary over here, perhaps you
call
it confectioners sugar or something, anyway it looks like powder.
Whereas
castor sugar is grainier but finer than loaf or granulated sugar. The
sugar you would use in a sponge cake......Hope this helps you all.

Mix all the dry ingredients together first, then stir in the almond
essence, lemon juice, brandy, and egg yolks and combine everything to form a
stiff paste. Place the paste (try saying this one fast) on a pastry board
which has been dusted
with icing sugar. Now knead the paste into a ball. Try not to handle it
too much as the warmth of your hands will make it oily. Now warm the
apricot
jam, brush it over the top and the sides of the cake. Now take half of the
paste and roll it into the shape of the top, approximately 1" larger
than the top of the cake itself. Pick up the cake put it top side down onto
the
paste shape and trim edges if needed.

Now roll out the other half of the paste into an oblong which is half
the circumference and twice the height of the cake. Now cut the oblong in
half
lengthways.Lightly place it around the cake. Press it firmly onto the cake
as you go
around. Now do the same with the other strip. Press the joins together and
turn the
cake up the right way. Even up the surfaces with a rolling pin, and
sharpen the corners a little on a square cake. Now store the cake as before
in clean papers and in an airtight container for at least
one week.

Christmas Cake Recipe
Royal Icing

Tin 6" (15cm) 9" (25cm) 11" (28cm)round
Sizes (13cm) square (20cm) square (25.5cm) square

Icing Sugar 1 lb (450g) 1 ½ lb (700g) 2 lb (900g)

egg whites 2 - 3 - 4 - 6

Place the egg whites in your largest bowl. Then stir in the sifted icing
sugar, a bit at a time. When it is all stirred in, Beat well use an
electric whisk if you have one. By which time the icing
should be
standing up in peaks. At least two inches (5cms) high.
Use a little icing to stick the cake to a board, now coat the
cake with the icing paste, using only one-third of the quantity. Ice the
top
first and then the sides with a pallette or flat edged knife smooth
the
icing all the way around it and get it as flat as you can. You can
store the icing either in a plastic food container with a lid, or in a
polythene food bag, either way stored in the refrigerator overnight.

Store the cake to dry overnight, by placing it in a plastic box in
the bottom of a cool cupboard. Give the cake one more coat in
the same way the next day. Leaving it to dry out overnight as before. .
With the last bit of icing sugar that is left, smooth it on top of the cake
as
before, but this time, with the flat of the knife lay it over the new coat,
and
lift it up in sharp jerky movements to create small peaks all over the cake,
this to look like soft snow peaks. Leave to dry

MINCEMEAT for mincemeat pies you'll need to make your own shortcrust
pastry for this one.
You will need enought jam jars or Kilner screw top jars to store this in

Makes approx 6lb (2.75kg)
Much better than shop bought!

1lb (450g) cooking apples peeled cored and finely chopped
8 oz (225g) shredded suet,
12oz (350g) raisins
8oz (225g) sultanas
8oz (225g) currants
8oz (225g) whole mixed peel. Finely chopped.
12 (350g) soft dark brown sugar
the grated rind and juice of 2 Lemons
the grated rind and juice of 2 Oranges
2oz (50g) flaked almonds.
4 teaspoons of mixed spice
1/2 teaspoon powdered cinnamon
1/2 grated nutmeg
6 tablespoons brandy

Just mix all the ingredients EXCEPT for the brandy together in a large bowl
very thoroughly. Then cover with a cloth and leave for at least 12
hours.(OVERNIGHT)
Now place the mincemeat loosely covered with kitchen foil, in foil paper or
Pyrex dish in a cool oven
225 deg F/120 deg C/Gas mark 1/4(quarter) for 3 hours. This will slowly
melt the suet which coats the rest of the ingredients and thus preventing
it from fermenting - which happens if too much juice from the apples seeps
out during storage.

Now when this is done allow the mincemeat to get quite cold again, stir in
the brandy, and spoon into clean sterile preserving jars. Cover and seal and
store. Use to make mince meat pies using your favorite pastry mix. These
can then be frozen. So make a lttle in advance if you need to.
Bon Appetite!

I need to look up me grannies Christmas Pudding Recipe and type it out on
here..I'll do this later cheers.....Cher




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