- Garrison Keillor
And another lovely activity compulsory at Christmas is baking Christmas cake. I have always wondered why non Christians get too excited at Christmas. I am neither being a fanatic here when I say this nor an evangelist proving the merits of Christianity but there's something about this season that warms people. I guess a lot of to has to do with the christian missionary schools popularly known as monastery and convent schools and the rest with how Hollywood portrays snowy xmas in their movies. We are all in love with Christmas stars, trees, snow man, reindeer, Santa Claus and Christmas cake. I know many Non Christians who religiously make Christmas cakes and good ones I tell you. I have never fancied Christmas cake maybe it was because I was overfed with it. Everyone who visited us during the Christmas season gifted us cakes and sometimes we gifted them to others. So much was my aversion to Christmas cakes that I would go buy a tea cake to have a change of flavor in my mouth. But this year when I decided to bake a Fruit cake on my own I realized the effort that went into this cake. I love the ordinary light fruit cake to dark Christmas cake but I have baked both yesterday and today. Both the cakes are recipes from Joy of baking and bless the lady she has made baking an enjoyable hobby. My hubby has been patiently and passionately along with me in this venture. I see a chef in him these days he is gonna throw me out of the kitchen by next Christmas.
I am gonna put up the dark christmas cake recipe also known as 'The Christmas Cake' along with the light fruit cake which is light in colour and booze content. I had soaked the nuts and fruits for a month and my cake was really too boozy. The Joy of baking site suggests you soak the fruits and nuts a week or three days early if you want it less boozy. I would say mine is the strongest cake I have ever had in terms of the alcohol content but my hubby loved it. We got our weighing scale and now we are precise people :)
I tried three versions of Christmas cake. I tried the dark Christmas cake following Stephanie's (joy of baking) , followed by her recipe for light fruit cake and finally to reduce the boozy flavour I made a dark christmas cake substituting the light fruit cake recipe with some ingredients that would make a dark Christmas cake. So the versions I am gonna put up today is the light and dark fruit cakes which shares the same recipe except for few ingredients. Hope I am not complicating this and you are reading it carefully.
Ingredients for Dark Christmas Cake ( Adapted from Joy of baking)
Raisins, nuts, fruit peels, cherries and dry fruits- 250 gm
Brandy- 3 tbsp ( soak for an hr )
Flour- 195 gm
Butter- 113 gm
Baking powder- 1 tsp
Salt- 1/4 tsp
Eggs- 4
Brown Sugar- ( 100 gm) or caramelise 100 gm sugar add pour it with little warm water.
Vanilla extract- 1 tsp
Orange rind grated- 1
Milk- 60 ml
Almonds powdered- 50 gm ( optional)
Directions
Soak the nuts and fruits for an hour at least in the brandy.Please ensure your eggs and butter are at room temperature before you begin. In a bowl beat the butter till fluffy. Add the sugar slowly and whip it well with butter. Add eggs one by one and don't worry if the batter curdles it will be fine in the end.
In another bowl sieve the flour, salt, baking powder, powdered almonds and add the orange rind here. Now the batter beaten can have the vanilla extract. Add flour little by little and whisk it up. Add the milk and the flour alternately. Preheat your oven for 180 degrees and bake the cake in a pound cake tin for 55-60 minutes. Cool the cake once its cooked on a cooling rack. Dust with some caster sugar if you like it that way, i did it for the pics but otherwise I didn't bother dusting.
My first christmas cake was baked yesterday and it seems fine even now in the open so you need not refrigerate this cake it can stay for days. This recipe is an adaptation of the light fruit cake. The only variation for light fruit cake is that the sugar is white and lemon rind is used instead of Orange. Almond essence is added in the light fruit cake which is another variation. Apart from this all the ingredients and their proportions remain the same. And as you can see from the pics they indeed are two different cakes in flavour and visual appeal.
I love the light fruit cake and my hubby loves the dark one so we had them both. I have done three cakes of each and they have come out well. So for you last minute bakers the joy of baking site says this is the recipe for you and I recommend it too. So go on start baking.
Merry Xmas folks bake and feast till you die hearty :) . I know, I know I haven't put up the recipe for wine making but then there's new year and there are no shortcuts to making wine so I thought why put it up but then we have easter coming up in few months so I will post the recipe by New year. For now enjoy the cake. Sunoj and I wish you all a Merry, peaceful Christmas.
I tried three versions of Christmas cake. I tried the dark Christmas cake following Stephanie's (joy of baking) , followed by her recipe for light fruit cake and finally to reduce the boozy flavour I made a dark christmas cake substituting the light fruit cake recipe with some ingredients that would make a dark Christmas cake. So the versions I am gonna put up today is the light and dark fruit cakes which shares the same recipe except for few ingredients. Hope I am not complicating this and you are reading it carefully.
Ingredients for Dark Christmas Cake ( Adapted from Joy of baking)
Raisins, nuts, fruit peels, cherries and dry fruits- 250 gm
Brandy- 3 tbsp ( soak for an hr )
Flour- 195 gm
Butter- 113 gm
Baking powder- 1 tsp
Salt- 1/4 tsp
Eggs- 4
Brown Sugar- ( 100 gm) or caramelise 100 gm sugar add pour it with little warm water.
Vanilla extract- 1 tsp
Orange rind grated- 1
Milk- 60 ml
Almonds powdered- 50 gm ( optional)
Directions
Soak the nuts and fruits for an hour at least in the brandy.Please ensure your eggs and butter are at room temperature before you begin. In a bowl beat the butter till fluffy. Add the sugar slowly and whip it well with butter. Add eggs one by one and don't worry if the batter curdles it will be fine in the end.
In another bowl sieve the flour, salt, baking powder, powdered almonds and add the orange rind here. Now the batter beaten can have the vanilla extract. Add flour little by little and whisk it up. Add the milk and the flour alternately. Preheat your oven for 180 degrees and bake the cake in a pound cake tin for 55-60 minutes. Cool the cake once its cooked on a cooling rack. Dust with some caster sugar if you like it that way, i did it for the pics but otherwise I didn't bother dusting.
My first christmas cake was baked yesterday and it seems fine even now in the open so you need not refrigerate this cake it can stay for days. This recipe is an adaptation of the light fruit cake. The only variation for light fruit cake is that the sugar is white and lemon rind is used instead of Orange. Almond essence is added in the light fruit cake which is another variation. Apart from this all the ingredients and their proportions remain the same. And as you can see from the pics they indeed are two different cakes in flavour and visual appeal.
I love the light fruit cake and my hubby loves the dark one so we had them both. I have done three cakes of each and they have come out well. So for you last minute bakers the joy of baking site says this is the recipe for you and I recommend it too. So go on start baking.
Merry Xmas folks bake and feast till you die hearty :) . I know, I know I haven't put up the recipe for wine making but then there's new year and there are no shortcuts to making wine so I thought why put it up but then we have easter coming up in few months so I will post the recipe by New year. For now enjoy the cake. Sunoj and I wish you all a Merry, peaceful Christmas.
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