Christmas Cake - have you cut into yours?

Reading this is like eavesdropping on a WI meeting. Creeping away for a slice of Aldi’s Genoa cake

Laura I’m gleaning tips from our experienced baking Grans in the hope it will help me to succeed with a cake to be proud of next Christmas. ?

I’m sure you are Puzzler, my comment was not meant to be anything other than shame on me, gran without talent.

You definitely do have talents Laura the baking talent may just be hiding ?

I use an Australian Woman’s Weekly boiled pineapple fruit cake recipe. Put loads more fruit in it. Icing requires a chainsaw, no complaints about broken teeth otherwise no more cake. Ever!
Yes, had a slice on Christmas Day.
If you want the ~really_ easy recipe, PM me.

I have PM’d you thanks grandMattie.

My son makes ours from my mother’s recipe. This year he sent us all large chunks by post.

I have never made a Christmas cake.

My mum told me she sent cake by post to my brother when he did National Service in Koala Lumpur many years ago. I don’t think it was edible by the time he got it unfortunately.

I use Good Housekeeping recipe but soak the fruit in sherry for 24 hours before baking. Feed with brandy 3 or 4 times when storing before topping with home made almond paste. We don't like white icing so don't ice with it.

I haven't made a cake for this Christmas because I had no idea how or if I would be celebrating. But, in the past, I have always found Delia's recipe to be infallible. A few years ago, when DS2 came to fetch me, the tin containing the cake was left behind in my kitchen. When I returned, I wrapped it well and put it in the freezer until the next year when,I'm glad to report, it was as good as new - if not better!

Last year I made Delia Smith's Last Minute Christmas Cake from her "Christmas" book - full of fruit and booze, it was abshlutly delisshus! This year I've made a proper old-fashioned Dundee Cake (a Mary Berry recipe) and again it was really good, but alcohol-free ...

I always make one every year ,have used the same recipe for 50 years, can’t remember where I got the recipe from.

Like Parsley3, I (and I use the term loosely because DH claims it is almost wholly his creation!?) used James Martin’s recipe. Very easy, very moist and absolutely delicious. The best we’ve had since I lost my dear late sister’s recipe.

Cut mine today, beautifully sticky and very boozy.I use a very old Mary Berry recipe which was printed in a mag called Home and Freezer digest.Inever follow it exactly,I buy all mixed fruit and just add up how much fruit,nuts,cherries etc. I plonk a whole bottle of sherry in a large bowl and leave all the fruit to soak for at least a week,never had a bad cake ever.

I made a largish one as DH loves it and likes it to last a long time. It’s not great! Icing too thick and a dryish cake. Won’t bother next year. I will buy one. ?

Cant bake, won’t bake.

I bought this very nice looking Dundee cake from Waitrose. Off to the kitchen now for a slice and a .

Greyduster is that the James Martin Christmas Cake recipe with malt whiskey?

Sloegin the decoration of your cake is very pretty. Are the holly leaves edible?

I usually do the delia one but time not being on my side bought a one from M&S which is lovely but hubby complained about me not making one very politely of course. Otherwise he’d of been wearing the M&S one! ??

I'm with Lovetopaint037 i used Lidl brandy soaked fruit and Delias recipe its delicious!

I used this Mary Berry recipe:
www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/classic_christmas_cake_04076
I cut the first piece out late Boxing Day night to have with my bedtime hot drink and it was delicious. We both had a slice with a cup of tea this afternoon. My DH said he thought it was rather sweet, but that could be because I used golden syrup instead of treacle.
I had a bag of brandy-soaked dried fruit that I bought in Lidl a while ago so I used that. I didn't make it until last Wednesday so it didn't have any extra booze, but it was lovely and moist.

I too used Mary Berry's recipe, left it quite late to make it, around mid-November, and kept feeding it with brandy 2 or 3 times a week instead of once, playing catch-up. The result, as we discovered late yesterday afternoon, was a wonderfully boozy cake, very moist and tasty. Only disappointment was the royal icing, because for once I added glycerin. God knows why, because I much prefer an icing that dries crisp instead of soft

The brandy soaked fruit from Lidl features in a lot of posts so I shall look out for some.
Bathsheba I like the sound of your soft Royal icing as my teeth are a bit dodgy with crunching.
You could always put another layer on top without the glycerin ?

We cut our cake today. I always use a recipe from the Hamlin All Colour Cookbook. I think it’s a Mary Berry and has never let me down. It was the first cookery book I ever bought.

I used the James Martin Make and Mature Christmas Cake this year. The recipe is on bbcgoodfood. It is a rich boiled cake and is just amazing. I’ve tried many Christmas cake recipes over the years and this one is definitely the best.

Thank you Puzzler 61. Yes, the decorations are edible and just made with the almond paste coloured with cake colouring. Incidentally this year I made my almond paste without raw egg, just ground almonds, icing sugar, caster sugar, good quality vanilla essence and enough sherry to bind. Pounded/kneaded well to extract the oil from the almonds. I've been making the same cake for 49 years- didn't make one the first year we were married but every year since. Always seems to turn out OK.