1lb. Brown Sugar 1lb. Butter 9 Eggs 1 1/4 lbs Flour 1/2 teasp. Baking Soda 1 teasp. Mixed Spice 1 teasp. Nutmeg 1 teasp. Cinnamon 4 1/2 lbs Mixed Fruit Lemon Essence Brandy to cover fruit (as much as you like) Bake 4 1/2 hours at 140 C degrees. Keeps well Enjoy My husband says it is about 150 years old.
sue62,
Oct 10, 8:18am
Wow.Thanks for sharing.
coastalskipper,
Oct 10, 8:30am
That's ok. Sue I like sharing, all the people on here share. Read further up about the cake tins and I have described the method we used.
katalin2,
Oct 10, 6:22pm
Do you cream butter and sugar or melt butter? Think I might give this a go this year, I usually make Alison Holsts Pineapple Cake, but like the sound of this, thanks for sharing.
coastalskipper,
Oct 10, 8:16pm
Katalin2. Cream the butter and sugar. I hope you enjoy the cake as we do. Friend made it for us when we had a Family reunion 2 years ago and it was well liked.
coastalskipper,
Oct 10, 8:17pm
Elliehen you are welcome
woody89,
Oct 10, 9:36pm
Sounds like my Nana's recipe. She used to soak the fruit in the alcohol for up to a week, as it got absorbed she tipped more in. Always a rich, moist cake. Hers also had Parisian essence (gravy browning? ) in which made it beautifully dark.
nzhel,
Oct 11, 12:49am
One of my sisters is a great cook and I was surprised to learn that she makes and swears by the '4 ingredients' recipe for Xmas cake. She just adds more ingredients (obviously now it becomes more than 4 ingredients! ). She uses a tropical juice to soak the fruit and adds rum etc and nutmeg, cinnamon, essenses. She reckons the cake is very successful and is beautiful.
coolnzmum,
Oct 11, 12:54am
I made Jamie Olivers last year, he suggests if you like a moist cake to blitz half of your fruit mix in a blender and then mix it in with the remainder of the fruit. It does make a very moist cake. Guessing you could do it with any Christmas cake mix.
coolnzmum,
Oct 11, 1:08am
Thanks for that I have saved it, converted to metric measurements. Will give it a go this year. Awaiting my cake tins to arrive back in NZ which should be next week so will get a bottle of brandy this week and start soaking the fruit ready for when my gear arrives back from Australia.
patty1955,
Oct 11, 7:04pm
Thanks for sharing your receipe, as I am a novice at this Christmas cake baking, what size tin did you use and any other tips you have for it
coastalskipper,
Oct 12, 6:38am
I had to use 2 elongated tins as I didn't have a larger tin, but when I had it made for a Family Reunion a 12" tin was used
retired,
Oct 12, 8:25am
Always make Delia Smith's Creole Christmas Cake. A lovely dark cake, soak fruit for a week before making.
griffo4,
Oct 12, 8:41am
Milly's in Auckland has 12" tins for sale on their web site
coastalskipper,
Oct 12, 8:43am
Thanks Griffo4
rubyjane11,
Oct 12, 9:27am
I had made that. just delicious!
griffo4,
Oct 12, 8:54pm
Retired or Rubyjane would you mind putting up the recipe please
l am just starting to think Christmas cakes
clair4,
Oct 12, 10:38pm
griffo4 I have just googled the recipe. Sounds like a nice cake.
rubyjane11,
Oct 12, 11:25pm
google it . well worth the effort I had made it twice so far will probably do again as well as the pineapple one also a fav in our house
cookessentials,
Oct 12, 11:34pm
I thought I would do a raw one this year, for a nice change.
buzzy110,
Oct 12, 11:45pm
Here is a googled recipe. I was thinking of making it but I see it is made with self-raising flour and I really, really dislike eating things with a metallic aftertaste that leaves a furry feeling in the mouth so I'll pass. Otherwise it looks like a really nice recipe.
Delia Smith’s Creole Christmas Cake For the pre-Soaking: 3 tbsp dark rum 3 tbsp brandy 3 tbsp cherry brandy 3 tbsp port 3 tbsp water 1 ½ tsp Angostura bitters ½ tsp ground cinnamon ½ tsp ground nutmeg ½ tsp ground cloves ½ tsp salt 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract 1 tbsp dark brown sugar 1 lb (450g) Thompson raisins 8 oz (225g) currants 4 oz (110g) stoned no-soak prunes, chopped 2 oz (50g) glace cherries, chopped 4 oz (110g) mixed candied peel, chopped 2 oz (50g) mixed chopped nuts (a mix of pecans, walnuts, and filberts is nice) For the cake: 9 oz (250g) self-raising flour 9 oz (250g) demerara sugar 9 oz (250g) unsalted butter, room temp (stick: 75 min thaw if taken from freezer; 30 min if taken from fridge) 5 large eggs Method: One week before baking: Measure out all of the pre-soaking ingredients, checking them off to ensure you have all of them. Pour all into a large saucepan. Bring the mixture to simmering over low heat (so it does not boil); simmer 15 min. Allow to cool thoroughly; place into a container; leave in a cool place for 7 days, shaking or stirring from time to time. When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 275°F. Measure out the flour, sugar, and softened butter into a large bowl; add the eggs; whisk or beat until everything is blended (no creaming needed). Gradually fold in the fruit mixture until it’s evenly distributed. Pour into an 8inch square cake tin, greased, and with the base and sides lined with a double thickness of silicone (parchment) paper. Have an extra piece ready (with a 1” hole in the center). Bake for 3 hours without opening the oven; cover with the vented piece of paper and bake for another hour or until a cake tester tests done. Cool 45 - 60 min in the tin, then remove. Store only when thoroughly cooled. Try a nut topping (see photo above) with a clear glaze. You will find this cake is far too rich to ice. You can also use 2 tins @5.8” square; cook for 2 h then add paper lid; cook 70 - 100min more.
I have made it on two occassions. definitely NO metallic aftertaste!
cableclamps,
Oct 13, 1:45am
Thanks for those;) oh my goodness! the recipie that is at the start is far easier than this googled one! Im sure they are both lovely - but sheesh! I know which one I will be making!
buzzy110,
Oct 13, 2:34am
So what method would you use for the 'easy' one. I can't decide.
buzzy110,
Oct 13, 2:43am
It is just me. I know that. My family can taste self-raising flour as well when others do not seem to notice it at all. We obviously have some extra sense that can detect that particular ingredient. Watching their faces pucker up in disgust and their mad dash to find somewhere secret to spit the stuff out used to be hilariously funny. They must have inherited that particular taste gene from me. It's too bad, because there is more baking made with self-raising flour than not these days and it all looks pretty good. Luckily I don't bake much these days so it is not really a problem.
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