Easy christmas cake

I'm another traditionalist. Delia Christmas cake recipe, made at half term when I'd have been off work and at home when the children were young.
Last year I ordered a cake from Betty's in Harrogate. It was half the size of the one I usually make, probably a Good Thing as it meant we couldn't continue eating cake till mid February. But, it really wasn't as good as a home made cake. And, I missed the weighing out, soaking on whatever sherry I could find in the cupboard.
Who knows about this year. Our area may well be tier 3 into perpetuity unless the government changes its approach. Two of us will be eating the cake till Easter (is that all bad....)

Haven't made or bought a Christmas cake for years. Think by the time meal was over no one was interested. Always sat about in a tin for months. Is a Christmas cake supposed to represent using up all the stores of food heralding in a new season to come? I've completely forgotten why we have such a rich cake at Christmas.

Kamiso

Chewbacca: I didn’t spot the vowel replacement and thought you had lots of opinions on Christmas pudding!

Kamiso, can't stand the damned things! I've had the same Heston Blumenthal Hidden Orange pudding in the back of my cupboard for 6 years!

Any rich fruitcake recipe should work. I don't like currants and rarely buy raisins, so last year my cake had sultanas, cherries, cranberries and candied pineapple to the weight of dried fruit in the recipe. No peel! Poured too much brandy in to the bowl for the fruit to soak up, so had to wait 3 or four days before I could bake it. It was delicious.

I have a great recipe given to me by a R.A.F cook, simple and tasty.vampirequeen i like your style.

Sophiasnanna Jo Wheatley who won bake off several years ago has one on her website where she cooks the peel element in water and then purées it to get the flavour without the texture. I’ve never tried it as I like peel but it might be a way around it.

Chewbacca: I didn’t spot the vowel replacement and thought you had lots of opinions on Christmas pudding!

vampirequeen

Buy a supermarket fruit cake. Unwrap. Prick it and sprinkle with brandy. Wrap in greaseproof paper and seal in tin. Repeat every two weeks until ready to ice. Pass off as your own boozy Christmas cake.

I was thinking of doing that with the shop bought Christmas pudding that got forgotten last year. The expiry date is a few weeks before the big day so should be fine especially with added alcohol. I rarely drink alcohol but do like it in food and puds.

vampirequeen you've just reminded me that was what I did last year and no one noticed! Sorted

I used to make a really delicious Marguerite Patten cake when young and ambitious but now I make an Australian Woman’s Weekly boiled fruit cake and add whatever I want to it - cherries, blueberries, cranberries, nuts, anything really, and it doesn’t really need to mature for weeks. It’s delicious and very, VERY easy. PM me if you want the recipe.

I always use my mother in law's recipe which I've used for the last 50 years. It's really simple, mixed dried fruit, cherries, eggs, sugar, butter and flour. I made it last weekend so it's got plenty of time to mature with regular doses of amaretto!

I just make a Dundee type cake. DH grumbles about lack of icing and marzipan, but when we had ones with icing, he left most of it, ‘too sweet’.

The two of us can polish it off in about a week! Usually do the BeRo one.

Make a simnel cake at Easter to get our marzipan fix.

I don’t like peel either, Sophiasnana. Last time I made a ?cake I just put some chopped almonds in, instead.

I haven’t iced one for ages - nobody ever ate the icing. I brush it with warmed apricot jam, arrange a load of nuts in a nice pattern on top, brush again with AJ, and tie a tartan ribbon around it. I’m not at all artistic but it always looks really nice.

I’ll get me coat

Buy a supermarket fruit cake. Unwrap. Prick it and sprinkle with brandy. Wrap in greaseproof paper and seal in tin. Repeat every two weeks until ready to ice. Pass off as your own boozy Christmas cake.

Love Christmas cake and always mess about with recipes.
I never use mix3d peel as I dint like it either so adjust weights of fruit with others. Alcohol varies, Fireball this year?!
It’s not difficult to do once it’s in the tin and in the oven it’s going * to taste yummy regardless provided the temperature is correct and it’s cooked for long enough.

Snap Chelsea ?

Delia’s Last Minute Mincemeat Christmas Cake may be worth a try. It uses mincemeat to replace the need to soak dried fruit. I made it years ago and it went down well!

The first one I made was a Delia recipe which used a jar of quality mincemeat. It was very good.

I thought you were contradicting yourself there, Chewbacca, one moment recommending James Martin's Christmas cake and the next minute saying it's cheaper to buy one!

Confusing.

I'm going to make my first Christmas cake for decades but I can't find a cake tin in the shops near me!!!

(Re names I've discovered there is a yellowmellow on GN. I didn't realise when I chose mine, so aplogies to you ym.)

GrannyLaine I suspect that was the recipe my mum & nana used..they were great fans of Be-Ro flour!,

I have made many in my time and just love the tradition of doing so. Tried lots of different recipes but always return to the fruit cake recipe in my very old BeRo book (sepia pages version) Never found a bought cake that came anywhere near.

I have always made Christmas cakes as did my mum & her mum. They are not difficult to make. Just plan ahead so the dried fruit gets a good 24 hours soaking in alcohol. If you dislike candied peel leave it out and make up the weight with extra sultanas or cherries. I have used the Delia Smith recipe as a guide it is fairly traditional which I prefer.
I will make mine next week ( half term) so it has time to be fed more alcohol & mature before Christmas. ? I will also make one with GF flour for my brother.

Aldi xmas cake is gorgeous. Why bother making it when you can buy one.