Christmas cake is to British Christmas what nougat is to Spanish Christmas. There is no house in which it is not present, as the English are very traditional when it comes to these things. It is a rather heavy cake, made with dried fruit and nuts galore, which is usually soaked in liquor. And I say “usually” because there are those who prefer to taste the fruit without it being masked by alcohol. I love the touch of alcohol in this cake, specifically the cognac. I am a drunk, what can I do.
In order for the cake to be moist, without getting drunk, it is important to prepare it a couple of months in advance. Thus, every week, a small amount of alcohol is added and the cake absorbs it better. No one should think that the cake can spoil in that time. Nothing could be further from the truth. The amount of sugar and alcohol is high and it lasts in perfect condition for several weeks. Those who do not soak it in alcohol or decorate it usually prepare it two or three days in advance and on Christmas Day it is ready to be devoured.
Caractère Revol porcelain plates
Ingredients (for 24-26 people)
- 500 g of assorted dried fruit, to taste (dates, raisins, prunes, dried apricots, etc.)
- Zest of half a lemon
- Zest of half an orange
- 75 ml of cognac (whiskey, rum or other liquor)
- 125 g butter
- 100 g brown sugar
- 80 g of wheat flour
- 50 g of ground almonds
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 50 g of sliced almonds
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
- 100 ml of cognac or other liquor to soak the cake
- 200 g of marzipan
- 500 g icing sugar
- 70 g of water
Preparation
- Place the dried fruit mixture, lemon and orange zest, brandy, butter and brown sugar in a saucepan . Cook over a low heat for five minutes. Transfer to a large, deep container and allow to cool for half an hour.
- Add the flour, the ground and flaked almonds, the baking powder, the ground spices, the eggs and the vanilla essence. Stir, without beating, with a spatula until obtaining a homogeneous dough.
- Grease the base and sides of a 18cm diameter, 8cm high Pushpan mould with butter. Line it with baking paper, leaving the paper hanging over the sides of the mould. Pour the batter into the mould and level the surface with the back of a spoon moistened with water.
- Place the mould in the oven, preheated to 130º C, and bake for two hours. Remove from the oven, prick the cake with a skewer and pour a couple of spoonfuls of brandy or the chosen liqueur over it. Place the cake back in the oven and allow it to cool completely inside.
- Once cool, remove the cake from the mould and store it in an airtight container in a cool place. Every week, open it and sprinkle with a couple of tablespoons of liqueur until a week before decorating, to allow the surface to dry for a few days.
For decoration:
- Lightly knead the marzipan on a surface sprinkled with icing sugar. This makes it more malleable and makes it easier to spread.
- Rub a rolling pin with icing sugar and work the marzipan until you have a disk about 1/2 cm thick. Place it on the cake and trim off the excess; you only want the marzipan on the surface.
- We let the marzipan dry for a couple of days before continuing with the decoration.
- Once the drying time has elapsed, we prepare the icing by mixing the icing sugar (previously sifted) with the water in a deep bowl . We stir it first with a silicone spatula and then beat it with an electric whisk for five minutes.
- We cover the sides of the cake with the sugar coating and also the surface. It is best to do this immediately after mixing it so that it is easier to spread, as the mixture hardens quickly.
- We sprinkle the Christmas cake with sugar sprinkles or decorate it with Christmas figures, we can make them with fondant.
- We let it dry for 24 hours so that the sugar dries well before consuming.
PushPan non-stick removable deep mould, Caractère Revol porcelain plates and Le Creuset wooden rolling pin
