The Classic Christmas Cake

When my husband and I lived in South Africa one of our favorite holiday desserts was Fruit Cake. Pamella Mitchell-Innes would begin baking months ahead and feed the cake with brandy until Christmas. It was moist and delicious! Several times I found myself having to fight my cravings and cut another piece! This Christmas Tyler and I wanted a bit of South Africa with us here in Oklahoma, so Pam was kind enough to send the recipe and I started baking! It turned out great - now to find people to share it with! Fruit Cake is much too large for two people :)

*Note: All ingredients are UK and might need to be converted.

I realize the post is quite late for anybody to do anything with it! But there is always next year - besides, fruit cake is never out of season. :)

Ingredients

1 lb currants

6 oz sultanas

6 oz raisins

2 oz glace cherries, rinsed, dried and finely chopped

2 oz mixed and candied peel, finely chopped

3 Tbsp brandy

8 oz plain flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground mixed spice

8 oz unsalted butter

8 oz soft brown sugar

4 eggs

2 oz almonds, chopped

1 tsp black treacle

the grated zest of 1 lemon

the grated zest of one orange

4 oz whole blanched almonds

(only if you don't intend to ice the cake)

Icing

(optional)

1 lbs 2 oz icing sugar, sifted

3 large egg whites

1 tsp glycerine 

Cake Directions:

You need to begin this cake the night before you want to bake it. All you do is weigh out the dried fruit and mixed peel, place it in a mixing bowl and mix in the brandy as evenly and thoroughly as possible. Cover the bowl with a clean tea cloth and leave the fruit aside to absorb the brandy for 12 hours.

Next day pre-heat the oven to gas mark 1, 275°F (140°C). Then measure out all the rest of the ingredients, ticking them off to make quite sure they're all there. The treacle will be easier to measure if you remove the lid and place the tin in a small pan of barely simmering water. Now begin the cake by sifting the flour, salt and spices into a large mixing bowl, lifting the sieve up high to give the flour a good airing. Next, in a separate large mixing bowl, whisk the butter and sugar together until it's light, pale and fluffy. Now beat the eggs in a separate bowl and add them to the creamed mixture a tablespoonful at a time; keep the whisk running until all the egg is incorporated. If you add the eggs slowly by degrees like this the mixture won't curdle. If it does, don't worry, any cake full of such beautiful things can't fail to taste good!

When all the egg has been added, fold in the flour and spices, using gentle, folding movements and not beating at all (this is to keep all that precious air in). Now fold in the fruit, peel, chopped nuts and treacle and finally the grated lemon and orange zests. Next, using a large kitchen spoon, transfer the cake mixture into the prepared tin, spread it out evenly with the back of a spoon and, if you don't intend to ice the cake, lightly drop the whole blanched almonds in circles or squares all over the surface. Finally cover the top of the cake with a double square of silicone paper with a 50p-size hole in the centre (this gives extra protection during the long slow cooking).

Bake the cake on the lowest shelf of the oven for 4½-4¾ hours. Sometimes it can take up to ½-¾ hour longer than this, but in any case don't look till at least 4 hours have passed. Cool the cake for 30 minutes in the tin, then remove it to a wire rack to finish cooling. When it's cold 'feed' it – make small holes in the top and base of the cake with a cocktail stick or small skewer, then spoon over a few teaspoons of brandy, wrap it in double silicone paper secured with an elastic band and either wrap again in foil or store in an airtight container. You can now feed it at odd intervals until you need to ice or eat it.

Icing Directions:

Place the egg whites in a bowl, then stir in the icing sugar, a spoonful at a time, until the icing falls thickly from the spoon. At this stage, stop adding any more sugar and whisk with an electric whisk for 10 minutes or until the icing stands up in stiff peaks, then stir in the glycerine.

Now spread the icing all over the top and sides of the cake as evenly as possible using a palette knife. Switch to a broad-bladed knife (or smaller palette knife) to 'spike' the icing all over to give a snow-scene effect. Leave the cake overnight for the icing to dry out before placing it in a container till needed.

Gingerbread Cake with Caramel Sauce

Last week I was able to spend time with family back in Utah. The one thing on my mind was baking something delicious for everybody - unfortunately the night I picked hardly anybody was home, more goodies for the rest of us! This Gingerbread Cake was scrumptious! I absolutely loved it and it has become my new favorite, year-round, recipe!

Ingredients:

Cake:

1 3/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
6 tablespoons butter
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2/3 cup boiling water


Directions:
Grease an 8 inch square pan. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
Mix the flour, baking powder, soda, salt, and spices together. Cream the butter, gradually add the brown sugar and cream thoroughly. Stir in molasses.
Beat egg until thick, and beat into the creamed mixture. Stir in the vanilla.
Add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture a third at a time, mixing well after each addition.
Gradually add boiling water, stirring after each addition. Turn into prepared pan.
Bake for about 50 minutes. Serve warm with lemon sauce.

Caramel Sauce
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup cream
pinch of salt
2 teaspoons vanilla

Mix all the ingredients together in a sauce pan and simmer for about 5 or 6 minutes. Serve over warm gingerbread, and butter pudding, apple pie, ice cream, and more!

British Cooking 101

When my husband and I were living in South Africa one of our favorite Christmas desserts was the South African, Traditional Fruit Cake. Pam Mitchell-Innes, the mastermind behind this delicious dessert, is an amazing cook and we always looked forward to dining at her beautiful home on Blanerne Farm. Now that we're back in America, we've thought much about South Africa, especially this time of year, and wanted to have a taste of South Africa here with us this Christmas. Pam was gracious enough to send me the recipe and I've had a very good learning curve the past few days as I've tried to figure out what most of the ingredients are! Goodness, have I learned a lot. 

 Maybe I'm still new to this "cooking" world, call me nieve, but I had no clue what any of the things on this list were:

Currants

Sultanas

Mixed Candied Peel
Glacé Cherries

and

Black Treacle

So, the searching began and my education was heightened! I think in the end it was simply the different countries calling food my different names. 

Dried Fruits used in British Cooking

Raisins: dried, black grapes. They are dried to produce a dark, sweet fruit. 

Sultanas: dried white grapes but from seedless varieties. They are golden in color and tend to be plumper, sweeter and jucier than other raisins. Also referred to as Golden Raisins in the US.

Currants: dried, black, seedless grapes. They are dried to produce a black, tiny shriveled - yet packed with flavor - fruit.

Candied Mixed Peel: is the thick peel of citrus fruits preserved in sugar

Glacé Cherries: cherries, again preserved in sugar solution, as the cherry usually loses color in the process, coloring is added making them a distinctive, bright red.

Black Treacle: any syrup made during the refining of sugar. Used chiefly in cooking as a form of sweetener or condiment.  

(I could not find any in the stores surrounding, so the substitute for Black Treacle is Molasses, Excellent! I have that). 

-There you have it! Hopefully everybody learned something new today. xoxo

Pumpkin Cake Roll

I have always wanted to make one, but have had this lingering fear that it would be a complete flop! You know the feeling right? So you avoid ever making it, but wish you could? Today was my first attempt at making a pumpkin roll. My only problem was rolling it back up without the pumpkin sheet slightly cracking. Any suggestions? I'm sure I could use advice from an expert. Despite the imperfections, I wouldn't have the slightest problem making another pumpkin roll. It was beyond divine! Extremely delicious, perfect for the season, and a great treat for neighbors and friends. I love, what I call, the pumpkin months. So many fun recipes to try and share. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

2/3 cup pumpkin

1 tsp. lemon juice

3/4 cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp salt

Filling:

1 cup powdered sugar

1 (8 oz.) pkg. of cream cheese

4 tsp butter or margarine

1/2 tsp. vanilla

Directions:

Preheat oven to Bake at 375 F°. Mix together eggs, then add sugar, pumpkin, and lemon juice. Set aside. Add together the dry ingredients. Mix well. Then fold both mixtures together. Take a baking sheet, greased and lined with waxed paper. Pour batter into sheet. Bake for 15 minutes. Sprinkle a dish cloth with powdered sugar. Once cake is out of oven, flip it onto the dish cloth, remove wax or tinfoil and the sprinkle top with powdered sugar. Slowly being rolling the cake up with the cloth. Let cool. Unroll, spread filling, and roll back up!

Caramel Apple Layer Cake with Apple Cider Frosting

I was assigned to bring a dessert to our local church party and I wanted to bring something magnificently divine. With the warm pumpkin and cider feel in the air, I thought I'd try this cake out. I followed the recipe exact, but decided a few changes will make it taste much better. Make sure to use Apple Cider - It makes a world of difference and brings much more flavor than regular Apple Juice. In the frosting, add 1 tsp. of vanilla and drizzle the left over caramel across the top of the cake (more for decorative and presentation purposes, but I love the idea. If you try it before I do, send me a photo). This fall seasoned cake was devoured in a flash. My husband had to run over and cut in line to make sure we tried a piece. Enjoy!

Ingredients

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

(Didn't have it on hand, so I used all-purpose flour. It worked great. Be sure to use all-purpose before any other kind of flour)

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups light brown sugar

3/4 cup canola oil

(I always cook with olive oil. It's much healthier for you)

3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

3/4 cup caramel sauce

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 eggs

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

Apple Cider Frosting

7 1/2 - 8 cups confectioners' sugar

(I know, it's a lot. I did it just to desired consistency)

3/4 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup apple cider or apple juice

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

pinch of salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 °F. Grease and flour two 8 or 9 inch round pans and set aside.

2.In a large bowl, whisk together the whole wheat pastry flour, baking powder, baking soda,

cinnamon an salt. Set aside. In a second large bowl, beat sugar and oil together with an electric mixer until well combined, about 30 seconds. Add applesauce, caramel and vanilla, beat for 30 seconds, then add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the buttermilk, and continuing to beat until well combined.

3. Pour batter into prepared cake pans and bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle of each cake comes out clean, about 35-40 minutes. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes, then gently loose cakes and turn out onto cooking rack; set aside to let cool completely!

4. For the frosting, put sugar, butter, cider, cinnamon and salt into a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Arrange one cake on a large plate and spread about 1 cup of the frosting evenly over the top. Arrange second cake on top then frost top and sides of entire cake with remaining frosting. Set aside at room temperature or in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour to allow frosting to set before serving.

Adapted from: A Hint of Honey. blogspot.com