About the Recipe
A good Christmas Cake should be rich, it should taste like dried fruit and spices and alcohol. It should have a moist texture. It is normally made in late October. It must be a special treat and can be served with a slice of Red Leicester Cheese
Ingredients
500g Mixed Fruit
75g Dried Cherries
75g Dried Cranberries
100g Blanched Flaked Almonds
200g Mixed Candied Peel
200g Glace Cherries, halved
300g Plain Flour
2 Tsp Cinnamon
1 Tsp Freshly Grated Nutmeg
2 Lemons, zest and juice
250g Unsalted Butter
250g Soft Brown Sugar
1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
1 Tbsp Black Treacle
4 Medium Free Range Eggs
0,5 Tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
1 Tbsp Milk
Brandy to taste
Preparation
Preheat the Oven to 140 degrees C
Line  a 20 cm (8 inch) cake tin with a layer of brown paper
In a large bowl mix together the Dried Fruit, Peel, Candied Fruit and Glace Cherries
Add 2 Tbsp Brandy, or to taste, mix and leave overnight covered
Turn the fruit well and add the Flour, Spices, Almonds, Lemon Zest and Lemon Juice
Using a food mixer, cream the Butter and Brown Sugar thoroughly
Add the Vanilla Extract and Black Treacle
Still beating incorporate the Eggs
Stir the mixture thoroughly into the bowl of fruit
Dissolve the Bicarbonate of Soda with the Milk and stir thoroughly into the mixture
Add further Brandy to taste - 2 Tbsp - until you achieve a dropping consistency
Pour the mixture into the prepared cake tin and hollow the top slightly
Place in the Oven and bake for 3.5 hours
Test with a skewer, and if it is just dry the cake is ready
Remove the cake from the Oven and leave it to cool in its tin
When cool, remove and peel off the brown paper
Wrap in Cling Film and foil and place in an airtight tin
Once a week, after one month, "feed"your cake with Brandy to your taste