It's Time to Prepare the Christmas Cake

If you want to make an impression this Christmas, or want a challenge, making the perfect Christmas Cake is definitely a great way to impress. Now you may wonder why we're writing a post about Christmas Cake in the middle of November, but the truth is, Christmas Cake needs time to rest for up to three months and you need to feed the cake at intervals throughout this time with brandy. It's more complicated than you think!

The Christmas Cake ingredients:

Currants
Sultanas
Raisins
Glace Cherries, rinsed, dried and quartered
Dried apricots, snipped into pieces
Candied peel finely chopped
Brandy, plus extra for feeding the cake
Plain flour
Nutmeg
Ground mixed spice
Softened butter
Muscovado sugar
Eggs
Almonds
Black Trecle
Lemon zest
Orange zest

To prepare the cake:

1. Put the currants, sultanas, raisins, rinsed, dried and quartered cherries, snipped apricots and chopped mixed peel in a large bowl. Stir in the brandy, cover the bowl and leave in a cool place overnight.
2. Lightly grease a 23cm/9 in deep round cake tin. Cut a strip of non-stick baking parchment to fit twice around the sides of the tin, fold the bottom edge of the strip up by about 2.5cm/1 in creasing it firmly, then open out the fold and cut slanting lines into this narrow strip at intervals. Put a circle of non-stick baking parchment into the base of the tin, lightly grease the outer edge and then fit the prepared strip of parchment with the snipped edge in the base of the tin to line the sides of the tin. Place a second circle of non-stick baking parchment in to cover the cut part of the paper. Preheat the oven to 140C/275F/Gas 1.
3. Put the flour, grated nutmeg, mixed spice, butter, sugar, eggs, chopped almonds, black treacle and the citrus zest into a large bowl and beat well to mix thoroughly. Fold in the soaked fruits.
4. Spoon the mixture into the prepared cake tin and spread out evenly with the back of a spoon. Decorate the top with the whole blanched almonds and glacé cherries, pushing them lightly into the top of the cake mixture. Cover the top of the cake loosely with a double layer of greaseproof paper. Bake in the pre-heated oven for about 4¼-4 ¾ hours, or until the cake feels firm to the touch and a skewer inserted

Remember to let the cake rest and feed it with brandy in intervals up till Christmas!

 

Find Mary Berry's recipe here.

 

 

 

Time for Pumpkins!

It's October and that means it is time to get pumpkin into meals and spice up your cooking. With Halloween around the corner what better way to prepare then with a lovely, warm and hearty pumpkin soup!

Ingredients for your pumpkin soup!

1x4kg pumpkin
125g butter
2 medium onions, peeled and finely chopped
1 cinnamon stick
grated nutmeg
salt and black pepper
1.7 litres chicken stock, or vegetable stock for vegetarians
3 tablespoons of sherry

These ingredients are all you need to make your pumpkin soup, which can be a great starter for a dinner party, or warmed up for lunch in the office!

To prepare and make the soup, follow these easy instructions:

1. Cut the top off the pumpkin and scoop out the seeds from the middle
2. Using a sharp knife and a spoon, carefully hollow out the pumpkin, removing the inside and setting it aside!
3. Roughly chop the scooped out pumpkin
4. Melt the butter in a large pan and add the onions! Cook for 10-15 minutes until they are golden brown.
5. Add the pumpkin to the pan, with the cinnamon and nutmeg and season to taste.
6. Increase the heat to medium and cover with a lid! Cook for 40-45 minutes and stir occasionally to prevent from burning, until the pumpkin is cooked through.
7. Return the soup to the pan and bring to a low simmer and cook for a further half an hour.
8. 45 minutes before eating, preheat the oven and pour the soup into the hollow pumpkin and add the sherry
9. Place the pumpkin lid onto the pumpkin and put on a large baking tray, cook for 45minutes
10. Carefully remove from the oven and serve the soup!

Voi la!

To find the recipe and more pumpkin inspired dishes visit the website!