Christmas Cake

on 10 Oct 11 in Cakes, Desserts, Fleur de sel, Vegetarian

Now is the time to make your Christmas Cakes to give them time to mature and dry for icing.

For a 20 cm square cake tin you will need:

• 380 g unsalted butter – softened
• 380 g soft brown sugar
• 1½ - lemon – rind zested or grated
• 7 lg eggs
• 380 g plain flour – sieved
• ¾ tsp cinnamon or ground mixed spice
• ¾ tsp ground nutmeg
• 360 g currants
• 390 g large raisins
• 390 g golden sultanas
• 190 g glace cherries
• 190 g mixed peel
• 100 g slivered almonds
• 4-5 tbs Calvados
• 1 tsp fleur de sel (fine natural sea salt)

1Put all the fruit into a mixing bowl and add the Calvados, mix well with your hands or a metal spoon, cover and leave to marinate overnight. Stirring several times to disperse the cognac.

2Line the sides and base of your baking tin with lightly oiled baking parchment or greaseproof paper and double line the outside of the tin with a band of brown paper or newspaper so that the paper is twice the height of the tin.

3In the morning beat the softened butter until light then add the sugar and cream together until light and fluffy.

4Sieve the flour, fleur de sel and spices together into a bowl. If you don’t have a sieve you can stir for a few seconds with a balloon whisk.

5Add the lemon rind then gradually beat in the eggs one at a time. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the flour in three batches, followed by the almonds and marinated fruit and all the juices. Mix well between each addition.

6Spoon the mixture into the tin and level around the edges; make a slight hollow in the centre of the cake before putting in the oven. Place the tin on a baking tray/tin lined with brown paper.

7Preheat your oven to 150°C/Gas 2 and bake towards the bottom for 3¾ to 4 hours, until a skewer comes out clean. Cool in the tin on a wire rack for 20 minutes then remove from the tin and allow the cake to cool completely on a wire rack.

8Store by wrapping in greaseproof paper then kitchen foil making sure the cake is airtight.

9As this cake improves with age, I like to cook my Christmas cakes as early as possible. At the beginning of each month carefully unwrap, prick the underside with a skewer and spoon 2 tablespoons of Calvados over it. Re-wrap it carefully.