Aoife's Nana Gracie's Christmas Cake
Last year was the first time I ever made my nana's Christmas cake and it was huge, so this year I am going to half the recipe and along side making a normal Christmas cake I will be making a gluten free one for a friend.
Equipment:
Electric or hand whiskCake tin
Mixing bowl
Weighing Scales
Measuring Spoons
Spatula
Sieve
Cake board
Skewer
Tin for storage
Cling film
Measuring jug
Spoon
Fondant smoother polisher
Tin for storage
Cling film
Measuring jug
Spoon
Fondant smoother polisher
Ingredients
500g of mixed dried fruit (raisins, cherries, cranberries and sultanas)
Zest and juice of one Orange
Zest and juice of one Lemon
90g of plain flour or gluten free plain flour
75ml of brandy (a little extra for feeding the cake)
125g of butter softened
100g of light brown sugar
50g of ground almonds
1⁄4 of baking powder
1 tsp of mixed spice
1 tsp of cinnamon
1⁄4 tsp of ground cloves
50g of flaked almonds
2 Large eggs
1 tsp of vanilla extract
Apricot Jam
Ready rolled marzipan
Ready rolled Icing
Method
1. Place all the dried fruit into a large mixing bowl brandy and the juice and zest off both the lemon and orange. Cover the top of mixing bowl with clingfilm and leave rest for around a week
2. In a large pan over a medium heat soften the butter and sugar until combined, lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes then tip the fruit mixture into the pan and leave to cool for around 30 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 150°C (130°C for fan or gas mark 2). Line your desired cake tin with parchment paper twice. Also wrap the outside of the cake tin with newspaper and tie with a string to secure.
4. Add the flour, ground almonds, baking powder, mixed spice, cinnamon, ground cloves, flaked almond, 2 eggs and the vanilla extract to the fruit and stir well, make sure there are no pockets in of flour.
5. Now pour our mixture into your prepared tin, level the top with a spatula and bake in the centre of the oven for 2 hours
6. Once baked remove the cake from the oven and using a skewer poke roughly 8-10 holes in the top of the cake and using a spoon feed the cake with 2 tbsp of brandy over the top. Leave the cake completely to cool in the tin
7. To store the cake peel off the parchment paper and wrap in cling film. Feeding the cake every two weeks with 2 tbsp of brandy, until iced.
8. In the last week do not feed the cake as this gives the surface of the cake time to dry before icing it .
Icing the Cake
1. Coat the cake in apricot jam.
2. Then using the ready rolled marzipan place this on top and smooth it out.
3. Copy step two with the ready rolled icing.
4. Decorate to your choice.
Tips
Place the jam in the microwave for 20 second blasts then pour it on the cake.
I prefer using the pre-rolled ready rolled icing as I'm not the greatest with that type of cake decorating.
500g of mixed dried fruit (raisins, cherries, cranberries and sultanas)
Zest and juice of one Orange
Zest and juice of one Lemon
90g of plain flour or gluten free plain flour
75ml of brandy (a little extra for feeding the cake)
125g of butter softened
100g of light brown sugar
50g of ground almonds
1⁄4 of baking powder
1 tsp of mixed spice
1 tsp of cinnamon
1⁄4 tsp of ground cloves
50g of flaked almonds
2 Large eggs
1 tsp of vanilla extract
Apricot Jam
Ready rolled marzipan
Ready rolled Icing
Method
1. Place all the dried fruit into a large mixing bowl brandy and the juice and zest off both the lemon and orange. Cover the top of mixing bowl with clingfilm and leave rest for around a week
2. In a large pan over a medium heat soften the butter and sugar until combined, lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes then tip the fruit mixture into the pan and leave to cool for around 30 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 150°C (130°C for fan or gas mark 2). Line your desired cake tin with parchment paper twice. Also wrap the outside of the cake tin with newspaper and tie with a string to secure.
4. Add the flour, ground almonds, baking powder, mixed spice, cinnamon, ground cloves, flaked almond, 2 eggs and the vanilla extract to the fruit and stir well, make sure there are no pockets in of flour.
5. Now pour our mixture into your prepared tin, level the top with a spatula and bake in the centre of the oven for 2 hours
6. Once baked remove the cake from the oven and using a skewer poke roughly 8-10 holes in the top of the cake and using a spoon feed the cake with 2 tbsp of brandy over the top. Leave the cake completely to cool in the tin
7. To store the cake peel off the parchment paper and wrap in cling film. Feeding the cake every two weeks with 2 tbsp of brandy, until iced.
8. In the last week do not feed the cake as this gives the surface of the cake time to dry before icing it .
Icing the Cake
1. Coat the cake in apricot jam.
2. Then using the ready rolled marzipan place this on top and smooth it out.
3. Copy step two with the ready rolled icing.
4. Decorate to your choice.
Tips
Place the jam in the microwave for 20 second blasts then pour it on the cake.
I prefer using the pre-rolled ready rolled icing as I'm not the greatest with that type of cake decorating.
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