Christmas Cake

[keepersdaughter]

Right, I know it's only September, but my thoughts are already turning to Christmas - no throwing bread rolls please :D . Is it too early to make a Christmas cake?. (I want to do more homemade gifts this year too, so I need to get my knitting needles out now if there's any way I can get anything made by then, that's why I'm thinking ahead). Anyway, if I made a cake in Sept. would it be mouldy by Christmas do you think?.

[souter girl]

Are we allowed to use the C-word now?
I believe the earlier the better then you "feed" it with regular slugs of brandy!
I have ambitions to make /knit "wild" tea cosies for **** presents. I heard about them on radio and I gather there is to be a book of patterns published soon - sounds like fun! I did funky scarves for sisters-in-law and nephew last year and my 3 grown-up daughters were quite jealous - I had hesitated to inflict them on the girls in case they thought Poor old dear, but the sisters in law and nephew are much too polite to do that!:

[keepersdaughter]

Don't know if we can say THE word yet, that's why I'm ducking :). The tea cosies sound very interesting, please can you keep us updated, would love to see pictures.

[dinger]

Sounds good to me Keepers the longer the cake stands the better it should be but don't forget to keep adding the slugs of Brandy it will make it tasty and moist.x

[Crocus]

I usually bake my Christmas (sorry!) in October. The longer it stands the better. I add a tablespoon of brandy each week until I think it's moist enough. Musn't get to moist though. Goodness, I can't believe how time is flying.

Do you girls bake micro christmas cakes or not? I haven't tried it yet. xx

[Shelli]

hi Baking Ladies

I always "do" the christmas cake and puddings around bonfire night - that way the cake gets a good 6 weeks to be fed with Marsala or Amaretto, whichever i'm using that year

- I am now up to 3 cakes and 4 puddings every year - the list of friends who want a cake every year is steadily growing - i must be doing something right !!

I always use my trusty Sarah Beattie recipe from her beautiful vegetarian cookbook "Neither Fish nor Fowl " - (we are not vegetarians but book is full of luxury recipes, no hair shirts).

Every year the cookbook falls open at the right page - complete with it's cake stains and no matter what type of year we've had - it seems that all is right with the world

Love
Shelli XX

[keepersdaughter]

Thankyou ladies, I was worried about wasting all the ingredients if I made it too soon.
I have a recipe of my Mum's which I thinking of adapting a little, also saw a good looking one of Delia's online. Shelli, yours sounds very good too. Would you care to share and may be we can have some diffferent ideas and come up with a favourite RM Christmas Cake.

[Shelli]

certainly KD - will scan recipe (complete with stains) and post when get a chance - the more people make this cake the better Christmas will be !!

[Crocus]

Oh yummy! xx

[Healing Hands]

Yep, Christmas cake is on my mind also normally start about the end of this month. Sometimes my daughters ask me if I can make theirs also if they are really busy. Even though I do not know what I am doing over Christmas this year, it would be nice if "someone" could cook for me for a change!

I keep topping my Christmas cake up with brandy so I get quite a boosy cake. I do not ice it as I am not keen on icing sugar.

I have a Christmas pud left over from last year, so either one of the girls will pinch it, which means I will will have to make more, and I normally start those about October time. Oh and of course there is the mincemeat I normally start that about now, in fact I was only thinking about it yesterday that I need to get going on it. I also put quite a bit of brandy in that also, so my December the mincemeat is nicely matured.

[Rustic Pumpkin]

September/October is fine, especially if the fruit is well soaked in alcohol, and the cake is appropriately fed with said alcohol.

[sunflower]

My tradition has always been to make our Christmas cake during Autumn half term hols...that is when the children were little and helped me out. Over the years I have experiemented with all sorts of fruity ingredients. This last two years I have included fruits like cranberries, apricots, ginger slices plus the syrup, figs and dates and a pear. I'm trying to reproduce a wonderful cake I was given in Canada made by some Monks. It was the most fabulous cake we had ever tasted....almost pure moist fruit. I still have'nt quite got the recipe right, but the huge cake gets eaten within two weeks. last year I only had one slice...

[keepersdaughter]

Sunflower, it sounds scumptious.

[baab95]

Sunflower, like KD, I think that sounds scrumdiddlyumptious!!!
I plan on making my puddings in the next few weeks as my eldest is on school holidays and he is a fabulous kitchen assistant!

[Crocus]

Within the first 2 weeks of October I will be baking my Christmas Cake. Sunflower, I also put some ginger in mine, it gives it a lovely tangy taste - yummy. xx