Making the Christmas Cake

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Every year in October I get out the family Christmas Cake recipe and make a list of what I need to buy. I soak the dried fruit in brandy until the first week of December when I make the cake.

We invert the jar regularly and slowly most of the brandy is absorbed.

I make two cakes as we are all keen Christmas Cake eaters and I love serving it to visitors during the festive season. I use half the soaked fruit in each cake. The other ingredients are  eggs, milk, butter, raw sugar, ground cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, ground ginger, essence of almond, pure vanilla, some salt and some bi carb soda. Add sieved plain flour and then some of the brandy strained off the dried fruit and mix.

Blanched almonds for the decoration. Pour hot water over the almonds and minutes later the skins will peel off.

Cherries for decorating the top, too. I wash the syrup off so they don’t sink to the bottom of the batter.


Everyone stirs the cake and makes a wish.

The cakes ready for baking. They take about three and a half hours to cook in a slow oven.


Christmas Cakes. I’ll drizzle the remaining brandy over them for the next two weeks. They smell very, very good.

Today is Lost and Found Day. The idea is to encourage you to return anything you’ve found or to make an extra effort to find something you have lost. Did you know Napoleon Bonaparte opened the first Lost and Found Office, in Paris?

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4 thoughts on “Making the Christmas Cake”

  1. No, I did not know Napoleon Bonaparte was the first to establish a Lost & Found place in Paris. Maybe he was looking to find lost Christmas Cake recipes — ya think? For certain, he’d be ecstatic and joyful if he found YOUR Christmas Cake there. But, I’ll bet NONE of your Christmas Cake ever gets lost, never ever! Savoring sounds scandalously sinful, seriously sensational, delightful, delectable, distinctively delicious.
    –Merry mellow mirth from around the World

    1. Hello Spence,
      I wish I could send you a cake. They have turned out very well. Shall I send the recipe?
      Merry Christmas to you both and best wishes for the New Year.
      Deborah

      1. Hello, Deborah. I’m thinking this recipe should be featured in your upcoming cookbook. (What? No upcoming cookbook? Well maybe you ought to fix that!) You’ve been cooking up some dishes that look and sound real tasty, including this magnificent cake, so… I’ll happily purchase the book when it comes along.

        Nowadays, lots of ways to publish affordable formats and make available to kitchens around the world. There is bound to be a suitable way.

        Hmmmm. Maybe with your interest in travels and foods, you might consider adding recipes from kitchens in Bali, Bangkok, Singapore, and other places as you folks roam the world. With recipes from your own kitchen, you’d have an international cookbook, kinda. Could be real interesting. Might also be more work than you wanna do!

        1. Dear Spence,
          I briefly thought I might write an extra blog this week called. “Tasting the Christmas Cake” with just the words Mmmmmmmm YUM! on it.
          Thank you for your suggestion but I can’t see myself following it. I just do traditional farmhouse cooking.
          Best wishes,
          Deborah

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