Comments on: Christmas Cake advice sought.

By: Abraham Bhutt

Abraham Bhutt — Fri, 12 Nov 2004 16:24:12 +0000

‘Bhutt’ it is! I know! Thanks Harry for the recipe. I am looking forward to trying it. I come from India, but I suppose one of the things left behind from the colonial times, beside the Cricket, Gin, Gymkhanas, Railways,……, Christmas Cake. Amazingly, for Christian weddings what you see is a darker, richer version of just that as well. Happy Holidays!

By: silverleaf

silverleaf — Thu, 11 Nov 2004 20:50:10 +0000

Alton Brown’s “free range fruitcake” (available on the Food Network website) sounds like it may interest you—lots of “real” dried fruit, and even more brandy!

By: Uncle Kvetch

Uncle Kvetch — Thu, 11 Nov 2004 19:40:35 +0000

Funny that none of my fellow Yanks have pointed out that fruitcake has a decidedly, um, checkered reputation on this side of the pond: i.e., it’s something that people insist on making (and giving as gifts) because it’s “traditional,” even though no one in their right mind would ever want to eat the damn thing. Not my own opinion, mind you, but it’s a pretty widespread stereotype.

By: harry

harry — Thu, 11 Nov 2004 17:36:28 +0000

Will get oven thermometer, thanks, and also the Cake bible (at a deal on Amazon). Flour: well, I had no idea, and that explains a lot. Thanks for the tip. ANd I’ll get on with the peel tonight. Thanks so much; I’ve hesitated to thank people because I don’;t want to stop the flow. More thughts still welcome.

By: htom

htom — Thu, 11 Nov 2004 17:10:13 +0000

Lest the WayBack link break: Emily Dickinson’s Black Cake Recipe updated for modern kitchens Place a shallow pan of water on the bottom of the oven. Preheat oven to 225 F. 2 cups sugar 1/2 pound butter 5 eggs 1/4 cup molasses 2 cups sifted flour 1/2 tsp baking soda 1 tsp cloves 1 tsp mace 1 tsp cinnamon 1/2 nutmeg, ground 1/4-1/2 cup brandy 1 pound raisins 2/3 pound currants 2/3 pound citron Add sugar gradually to butter; blend until light and creamy. Add unbeaten eggs & molasses. Beat well. Resift flour with soda and spices. If you’re using unsalted butter, add 1/2 tsp salt. Beat sifted ingredients into mixture, alternately adding brandy. Stir in raisins, currants, and citron. Pour batter into two loaf pans lined with waxed paper. Bake at 225 F for 3 hours (this is not a typo). Remove pan of water for last 1/2 hour. Let loaves cool before removing from pans. Remove paper and wrap in fresh paper. The submitter’s notes from experience: Keep the water pan 1 inch full; otherwise, you’ll have a black brick. I find that kitchen parchment works better than waxed paper. This cake is so rich, you’ll think you’re tasting heaven (well, of course you are). I usually use only half the listed amounts of raisins, currants, and citron—and the cake still weighs a ton. The longer the cake sits (in a cool, dark spot), the better it will taste. ED used to put hers in the cellar for a month, but I think 19th century people had a different attitude toward mold than we do … :-) I’ve had great success with this recipe and make it every year on ED’s birthday. Additional note: Emily Dickinson: Profile of the Poet as a Cook is available from Jeffrey Amherst Bookshop for US$4.95 + US$2.00 shipping. If you’re familiar with the letters, you already know that ED was quite a good cook! Originally posted to the emweb e-mail discussion group in 1995.

By: htom

htom — Thu, 11 Nov 2004 17:00:09 +0000

Sorry to be so late, I’d lost my copy, the link was dead, and I had to find it. Thanks, Google & Wayback Machine! Emily Dickinson’s Blackcake. http://web.archive.org/web/19991110225644/http://userweb.interactive.net/~krisxlee/emily/blackcake.html I sometimes change the pound of raisins to a half pound, and add a half pound of chopped dates.

By: mv

mv — Thu, 11 Nov 2004 16:36:09 +0000

Hm, mike’s mention of flour above makes me wonder about the difference between British and American flour, and whether that is going to affect your fruitcake, er, Christmas cake. Depending on where you are in the US, your all-purpose flour may be much stronger than what you are used to. Fine Cooking has a thing or two to say about American flours. The UK Flour Advisory Board says that plain flour is 7-10% protein. US all-purpose flour runs 9-12% (lower in the South.) You might try a relatively low-protein flour (put down that sack of King Arthur!)

By: kwijibo

kwijibo — Thu, 11 Nov 2004 03:03:24 +0000

For the moisture, try packing it the old fashioned way: wrap it in a flour-sack towel soaked in rum or brandy and then put it in a sealed container. Try dried cranberries instead of cherries. They taste better and have more red color. Preserve citrus peel yourself. Really. It’s easy and it tastes like citrus instead of candlewax: Cut the peel from 2 small grapefruit, 2 oranges, and 3 lemons. If the white pith is thick, trim it back a bit. Dice it. Boil 10 minutes in enough water to cover. Rinse it in cold water. Add 2 cups sugar and simmer until the liquid boils away (half an hour or so). Put it in a jar in the refrigerator. Makes about a pound, keeps till next year.

By: belle waring

belle waring — Thu, 11 Nov 2004 01:45:49 +0000

hmm, so much for posting the link in html format. let’s blow out the margins, kids: http://examinedlife.typepad.com/johnbelle/2003/12/fruitcake_isnt_.html

By: belle waring

belle waring — Thu, 11 Nov 2004 01:43:35 +0000

you can read my recipe here: black fruitcake. I recommend both soaking the dried fruit in rum before baking, and keeping it in a tin and pouring booze over it every few days. wrap them in tin foil and then put them in an ammo box. you may not be able to get glace cherries in the midwest, but you can damn sure get an ammo box. also, you can candy your own fruit peel. this sounds like a deal session, but it’s not really so bad. you just have to let it barely simmer in sugar syrup for a long time. finally, this whole “americans don’t like fruitcake” thing is the result of americans not ever eating any good fruitcake.

By: mike

mike — Thu, 11 Nov 2004 00:15:13 +0000

As a professional pastrycook I’ve made thousand of Christmas cakes over the years so here’s my advice. Blanch the dried fruit with very hot water for a couple of minutes, drain. Add some alcohol at this stage if you wish. ( I prefer rum) Leave to stand overnight. Make sure the butter and sugar is well creamed and at room temperature, add the eggs slowly and avoid curdling. ( a badly made cake dries out quickly) Add all the flour (make sure its common or garden stuff not bread or special cake flour) and the fruit and carefully fold in. Protect the tin (which seems a little small for this amount of mix) by tying brown paper around the outside and place the tin on some more paper. Cover loosely with a couple of sheets of g/proof and bake at 300 f (yes, I agree, buy an oven thermometer) until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean, about 3 hours. Allow to cool, wrap in several layers of g/proof and store in a cool place until about a weeek before Xmas. Then add your alcohol (the usual amount for a cake this size is up to 2 ozs) by pricking the base and pouring over. The real secret to a moist cake is making it well in advance. Unlike other cakes, heavy fruit cakes actually get moister the longer they are left. They do not dry out. Best of luck and Merry Christmas

By: Jane Galt

Jane Galt — Wed, 10 Nov 2004 23:53:05 +0000

The cheesecake routine is what we do with our christmas puddings, and yields a nice boozy flavour (although drowning them in 150 rum before setting them on fire doesn’t hurt). I ALSO recommend soaking the dried fruit in booze. It’s gorgeous.

By: Ushma

Ushma — Wed, 10 Nov 2004 21:56:14 +0000

Google shows http://www.mrsbridgespantry.com/specials.htm has Whitworth’s mixed fruit and sultanas. They do mail order.

By: Ushma

Ushma — Wed, 10 Nov 2004 21:52:26 +0000

Google shows http://www.mrsbridgespantry.com/specials.htm has Whitworth’s mixed fruit and sultanas. They do mail order.

By: Liz

Liz — Wed, 10 Nov 2004 19:31:23 +0000

Here’s my great-grandmother’s recipe – her’s was pretty boozy :) My grandmother made fruitcakes and followed the same soaking method – just pour brandy or rum over them about once every 10-14 days or if they seem dry. I couldn’t even breath near those things when I was a kid. GREAT-GRANDMA VALENTINES PLUM PUDDING 1/2 lb beef suet 1 c sugar – brown or white 1 lb each currants and raisins 1/2 lb each candied lemon, cherries and citrus peel 1 lb flour 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp allspice 1 tsp salt 2 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp baking soda 1 Cup cider or sweet wine 1/4 Cup cold water Brandy or rum Chop suet fine, then put fruit in. Sift flour, baking powder and spices together and mix with fruit. Add cup of cider or sweet wine, mix, then add baking soda mixed with 1/4 cup of cold water. Mix well. Form into rounds and tie up with cheesecloth or rags tightly. Drop them in a large pan of boiling water and boil for 5-6 hours. Soak with brandy or rum. Should keep for a long time. Makes two large ones or 4-5 small ones. Can add 2-3 beaten eggs, nutmeat or a grated carrot. Don’t add any more flour. Lilian Valentine Liz