Christmas Cake RecipeThis Christmas cake recipe is fantastic; not only should the final result be one of the center pieces to any festive feast, but it tastes absolutely delightful too. Many people don't know that the best Christmas cakes can take upto three months to make. This is down to the fact that regular feeding of your cake will ensure it's full of rich flavours and aromas come December 25th. Also included in the Christmas recipe are great tips on how you can decorate your cake, to help show it off in all its glory. INGREDIENTS DIRECTIONS Once you have done this grab yourself a large mixing bowl and sift into it the flour and spices, then add the sultanas, raisens, currants, apricots, walnuts, almonds, mixed peel and a pinch of salt and stir thoroughly. Next, in a seperate bowl, beat the butter with the musovado sugar and lemon zest until the contents become nice and fluffy. Once you are satisfied, add to the same bowl the eggs one by one, and as you do so add 1 teaspoon of the flour mixture each time. When you have added all of the eggs, add the egg mixture to the flour mixture, adding the lemon juice and brandy. The next task is to spoon the resulting mixture into a greased and floured 10 inch tin, level the mixture and bake for 2 hours. When the time has elapsed grab yourself a sheet of greaseproof paper, cover the Christmas cake very loosely with it and bake for a further 1 hour. After 45 minutes of second baking session has passed check the Christmas cake to see if it's done. You can tell when it has cooked when it starts to shrink in from the sides of the tin and you can insert a skewer into it and remove it cleanly. When you are satisfied that it is cooked place it on a wire rack and wait for it to cool. When it is completely cold, wrap in tin foil, place in an airtight container and store in a cool dry place until Christmas day. Every couple of weeks you'll need to unwrap the Christmas cake and 'feed it'. This is done by pricking the top of it with a long skewer and spooning over it 2 tablespoons of brandy. Eeach time you 'feed it' see to it that you wrap, seal and store it just as before. DECORATING Just a couple of days before the big day get your cake out and begin to decorate. The first step you need to follow is too lightly dust a clean surface with icing sugar and roll out a circle of golden marzipan, about 0.5cm thick and large enough to more than cover the whole cake. When you have finished doing this brush the cake with a bit of warmed apricot glaze and cover it with the marzipan, trimming off any excess. For the next bit you'll need some ready to roll icing. Once you have this lightly dust a clean surface once more and lay out the ready to roll icing the same way you did with the marzipan. Next, lighlty brush the marzipan with a little water, before draping the icing on top. Smooth carefuly with your hands, working from the center out to the cake's edges and down its sides. Trim off any excess. Finally wash a couple of holly sprigs and place them on top, sprinkle with a tiny bit of icing sugar for effect and there you have it, a fantastic Christmas cake. I hope you enjoy trying out our Christmas cake recipe. For more Christmas tree recipes follow our links, below
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