![Chef Martin Anderson]()
Chef Martin Anderson
Only ........ Days to Christmas !!
As I said last week I will be concentrating on Christmas dinner for the next few weeks.
I know it's early but now is the time to get your Christmas Cake sorted .
For many of you it will be your first attempt at "The Cake" and I know a lot of people panic over it but it is simple to make if you get all the preparation done in advance.
Firstly you will need a 9 inch round cake tin for this recipe , make sure it's at least 6 inches deep too , buy good quality grease proof paper and the list of ingredients is below.
Make sure you buy good quality fruit, the cheaper varieties sometimes contain stones or bits of grit!
Have your eggs at room temperature , it makes them easier to mix with .......did you know that? If you don't like cherries leave them out but you must replace their weight with another fruit!! Get it ? If you don't like currents the same rule applies you must replace them by weight with another fruit . Some folk add mixed peel , that's fine but don't add 500g thats over a pound weight, be careful!
Open the bags of dried fruits and spread them out on a tray , pick through them to remove any stalks that may have escaped inspection !
Do you know the difference between raisins & sultanas ............. Raisins are dried black grapes & sultanas are dried green grapes so there you go .
Use real butter, it's Christmas and you really don't want to add cheap margarine to this recipe.
The reason for washing the cherries is to remove all the excess sugar syrup from them. Dry well so that the cake mix sticks to them and always cut them in half or when you dulce the cake you will simply push the cherry down through the cake instead of slicing nicely.
When it comes to the brandy and you don't want to buy a full bottle , simply go to a local bar and buy a couple of measures but remember you will need extra for soaking !
On the day of baking start early, this is an all day job , get everyone out of the house and pay attention to what you are doing Don't open and close the oven door every 20 minutes to see how it's doing. Allow the cake to cook , if you burn it you can scrape off the black bits !!! Just kidding you won't burn it and I'm sure there will be a fantastic aroma all through the house while this cake is baking. Hard to beat.
For the cake you will need......
![Oh crumbs - chef Anderson gets it right again.]()
Oh crumbs - chef Anderson gets it right again.
175g raisins
75g of whole pecan nuts
75g chopped walnuts
75g of chopped almonds
350g of red or green glacé cherries , halved, well rinsed in warm water and thoroughly dried
500g currents
350g sultanas
150ml of brandy plus extra for soaking
the zest of 2 oranges
250g of real butter at room temperature
250g of brown sugar
4 medium eggs
1 tbsp treacle
250g plain flour
1½ tsp mixed spice
Place all the dried fruit, including the cherries, into a large mixing bowl, pour over the brandy and stir in the orange zest. Cover with clingfilm and leave to soak for three days, in the fridge stirring daily.
Grease and line a 9in deep, round tin with a double layer of greased greaseproof paper. Preheat the oven to 140C
How to line a round cake tin
In a large mixing bowl place the butter, sugar, eggs and treacle , beat well until all the ingredients are well mixed ( this really is an electric mixer job ) , Fold in the flour all the nuts & mixed spice , mix well again at a low speed , finally stir in the soaked fruit at this stage I would be mixing by hand as it will be difficult to get all the fruit into the mixing bowl and still have it running without all the fruit shooting over the kitchen counter !! . When well mixed pour into the the cake tin and level the surface.
Testing to see if a cake is cooked
Bake in the centre of the preheated oven for about 4-4½ hours, or until the cake feels firm to the touch and is a rich golden brown. Check after two hours, and if the cake is a perfect colour, cover with foil. A skewer inserted into the centre of the cake should come out clean. Leave the cake to cool in the tin.
When cool, pierce the cake at intervals with a fine skewer and drizzle over a little extra brandy.
Wrap the completely cold cake in a double layer of greaseproof paper and again in foil and store in a cool place , once a week add a dash of brandy , keep it well wrapped up after you soak it . This will keep it moist until you wish to ice it , to be honest I rather the cake without the icing sometimes icing can be too sweet .
When it comes to icing the cake there are several options , Marzipan is always a favourite and there are several available to buy , if you don't like that you can buy Royal icing mixes , all you have to do is add water and follow the instructions , you may also now buy fondant icing , the stuff you see on wedding cakes , easy to roll out and you can add your own colouring if you want to make some edible decorations for your cake .just look online and you will find plenty of ideas.
If you have any difficulty contact me through Facebook and I will answer your questions as soon as I can .
Next week I'll post a recipe for an alternative soup , gluten , dairy & fat free .