It’s the end of October and the other day my thoughts suddenly turned to Christmas. I was wandering through my local cookware store and spied the gorgeous wooden cake boxes that I used to sell hundreds of at The Epicurean Workshop all those years ago.
Time to bake the Christmas cake!
It’s been a few years since I baked a Christmas cake, as I’m the only one in the family that enjoys it, but this year I’ll bake a big one, cut it into four squares, keep one for myself and give the other three away as gifts.
My favorite recipe calls for lots of glace fruits so it’s not the cheapest cake to make. For several years in the earlier days of the Epicurean I used to make mini versions of this cake to sell - using large tuna tins that were about 12cm in diameter. We decorated the tops with more glace fruits, glued on with apricot jam. They looked sensational.
Sadly the recipe for this cake is not to be found anywhere so instead I will bake the family recipe. This is a great cake too but more traditional in its ingredients and result. You’ll find the recipe at the end. My mother always decorated the cake very simply with whole blanched almonds, pushed into the cake batter just as it went in the oven so that they toasted to a golden hue as the cake baked. And that is exactly what I shall do.
One curious aspect to the recipe is the caramelised sugar and butter that is called for. I can only assume this has the effect of darkening the cake slightly. These days Parisienne essence (gravy browning) is often called for.
Getting back to the wooden cake boxes though; these are quite unique in that the wood (kahikatea) insulates the cake mixture as it bakes which means you don’t have to go to all the trouble of lining it with brown paper as you do with a tin. Anthea Dunning, who produces the range, took a family tradition and now has a successful business selling them in four sizes. Each comes with her own family recipe and her website has a great explanation on how to use them and produce a perfect cake. Over the years, with each consecutive use, the boxes darken and age and become quite beautiful.
I should add that these boxes are square for obvious reasons and to me a Christmas cake should always be square. I wonder what others think about this – round or square?
The metal bake ware of today no longer has the quality of yesteryear. You need to look hard to find something that looks like it will last. I am lucky enough still have my mother’s heavy Christmas cake tin which is also dark and with a lovely worn patina. But if you are looking to buy one avoid all the lightweight tins out there and seek out one with some weight. Don’t bother about non-stick coatings – you’ll be lining it anyway.
One great brand from the UK that I have found is Silverwood – sold in New Zealand by F.L.Bone – the AGA oven people. The range is extensive but what I like is that it still offers traditional things like pie plates and square Christmas cake tins as well as all the clever new inventions. I love the oblong tart tin with the option of a fluted insert so you can have either a straight sided tart case or a fluted one.
At F.L.Bone they also have a range of Bake-O-Glide Teflon liners for the bases and sides of square and round cake tins - already cut to size. So clever!
So to make my mother Robin’s ( which was originally her mother Ines’) Christmas cake you will need:
450 grams butter, softened
450 grams brown sugar
10 eggs
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons sugar
1 cup brandy or whisky
450 grams raisins
450 grams sultanas
900 grams other mixed dried fruits and nuts such as dates, currants, cherries, glace peel and almonds
675 grams plain flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
whole blanched almonds to decorate
24cm square x 12cm (approximately) deep cake tin
Preheat the oven to 150°C, no fan. Line the base and sides of the cake tin with several layers of brown paper with a top layer of baking paper. Weigh or measure all the ingredients. Combine the fruits well and sift the dry ingredients.
Cream the butter and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl or stand mixer until pale and smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Melt the 2 tablespoons of butter with the sugar in a small pot and cook until the sugar has caramelised to a nut brown. Remove from the heat and add the brandy. Simmer until the sugar has completely dissolved. Add this immediately to the butter and egg mixture, pouring it in, in a steady stream, while beating fast. (Don’t worry if it looks like it is curdling)
At this point you will need to transfer the mixture to a larger bowl, especially if you are using a stand mixer.
Add the fruit and flour alternately to the mixture, mixing gently with each addition. Pour the batter into the prepared tin and tap the tin gently on the bench once or twice to disburse any air pockets. Decorate the top with the blanched almonds, pushing each one slightly into the cake. Bake for 5 hours. If the cake starts to brown too much cover it with a piece of foil.
Remove from the oven and pour over a little more brandy or whisky while still warm. Cool, remove from the tin and store airtight until Christmas, or earlier if you can't wait.
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