The Official Xmas Cake Recipe Thread......
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| 1 | Overnite Gingerale Xmas Cake purplegoanna - 2010-11-01 13:41:00 |
| 2 | This is our favourite Christmas cake.. there's a lot of writing below that includes preparing the tins and storing - the cake itself is very easy to make. To prepare the tins: I then cut wide strips of newspaper - the same width as the height of the baking paper - and about 5-6 sheets thick. Christmas Cake: Ingredients: Next day, when ready to make the cake, preheat oven to 120°C. Place an oven rack about a third the way up from the bottom of the oven, and place a flat biscuit tray on this. Melt 250gms butter. Sift together: Stir 2 tsp baking soda into 3 cups cold water. Add the butter mix, flour mix and water mix to the fruit and stir together well.. Don't forget to have everyone make a wish - close your eyes as you stir the mix.. and wish! :-) Divide the mix between the tins. Use the back of a spoon to press the mix down well, and level the mix across the top. On the biscuit tray in the oven, place a thick whole section of a newspaper – about 5-6 layers thick and folded so it’s flat. Bake for 1 & 1/2 hours, then if you want, decorate the top with a mix of almonds and cherries - or your preferred mix of nuts and cherries. I place them on when it's partly cooked so the nuts and cherries don't sink into the mix. Bake for 1 & 1/2 hours more and check in the centre with a skewer – continue cooking till the skewer comes out clean - depending on the size of the cake/s, this could be up to several hours longer - your skewer is your guide.. Remove from the oven, and cover the tins with a teatowel, then place a thick towel over that, so it covers the tops and sides of the cakes. I prefer to freeze my cakes, unless making them a short time before they're needed. Hope this helps.. it’s the best cake recipe I’ve ever made for Christmas’, Wedding’s, 21sts, Christening’s a juliewn - 2010-11-01 17:30:00 |
| 3 | juliewn, I have wooden boxes for cooking my cakes, so thought that may save all the wrapping as the wood keeps cool and the cakes do not overcook on the sides. Can you please tell me what size tins of pineapple that you use. I am going to make half the recipe tomorrow. Thanks for the yummy recipe. clair4 - 2010-11-01 17:46:00 |
| 4 | bump add your recipe... purplegoanna - 2010-11-01 22:57:00 |
| 5 | This must be a very sloppy mixture with 3 cups of cold water is this right? walker18 - 2010-11-02 13:38:00 |
| 6 | Looks like it makes 3 cakes though walker18 - 3 cups for 3 cakes I'd say sounds about right. accroul - 2010-11-02 13:50:00 |
| 7 | clair4 wrote:
Hi Clair juliewn - 2010-11-02 14:18:00 |
| 8 | walker18 wrote:
Hi.. it's not sloppy.. about the same as most moist Christmas cakes. The original recipe has a cup of white wine, a cup of sherry and a cup of water.. over many years of trialing, I found that the flavour of the cake is better when water only is used.. it enhances the fruit's used, without bringing in other flavours as I find sherry and wine do.. .. The recipe above makes beautifully moist cakes.. they're just delicious.. Edited by juliewn at 2:35 pm, Tue 2 Nov juliewn - 2010-11-02 14:21:00 |
| 9 | Your recipe is very appealing Julie,thanks for sharing. The best Christmas cake I have ever eaten was made by Audrey Crowe,the cricket players mother.My manager at the time bought them for staff as a Christmas present and we absolutely loved it. eastie3 - 2010-11-02 17:35:00 |
| 10 | You're most welcome Eastie :-) juliewn - 2010-11-05 23:49:00 |
| 11 | Has anyone made Christmas Cakes for gifts using a Texas Muffin pan... I thought I might make some for work colleagues (About 18 in all) My big question is... how did you line the tins? so you could could cook long and slow without burning? The reason I asked..."Fifie" in another thread said she lined hers with baking paper AND Brown paper... not sure how you would do that. toadfish - 2010-11-06 06:35:00 |
| 12 | Clair4, Did you make your half mixture? What size tin did you use. My largest is 24cm/ 9 1/2inches. The next size is 22cm, it does look a yummy recipe as does anything with condensed milk. Juliewen, we always made a wish when stirring the Christmas pudding. marywea - 2010-11-06 10:52:00 |
| 13 | I made my Christmas cake yesterday - feels so good that I've done it - I've been putting it off for weeks! I always use Nigella Lawson's cake recipe. I think she says it's from a friend's relative in NZ. It's always delish!! I was annoyed with myself for not making a wish when making the cake yesterday after reading this thread and then I remembered that I usually make a wish when stirring my Christmas pudding mixture and not the cake ;) All's well :) lizab - 2010-11-06 12:45:00 |
| 14 | juliewn...Can you please clarify how much butter is in your christmas cake recipe? I have cut and pasted the recipe from another thread on here and just realised the one I have calls for 500g butter and the one on this thread says 250g butter. Thank you. smileeah - 2010-11-06 13:08:00 |
| 15 | Oh blow......... I have already made my Xmas Cakes - do them Labour weekend as I have to post one to Chicago for our son. I do so like anything from you Pam - all of your recipes have never failed and have become favourites. I am ever so tempted to do this recipe. Perhaps I will do a 1/2 mixture. I always use the wooden cake boxes too - would never go back to tins again. Perhaps I could make then freeze for later in the year. Thanks so much for sharing it - and taking all the time to type it all out. maynard9 - 2010-11-06 14:24:00 |
| 16 | The member deleted this message. cookessentials - 2010-11-06 14:38:00 |
| 17 | purplegoanna wrote:
Purple, I made this recipe yesterday, it turned out great...have stored it away as per your instructions and will ice it nearer to Christmas. Many thanks for this :) scout_6001 - 2010-11-06 15:16:00 |
| 18 | Hi...could I please insert a quick query please? Where do you purchase a 'wooden cake box'? Thankyou fn1 - 2010-11-06 16:30:00 |
| 19 | fn1 - if you do a search here on TM for 'NZ Made Kahikatea Cake Box' you will find one. winnie231 - 2010-11-06 16:49:00 |
| 20 | Most good kitchen shops sell the boxes. Hamilton has them but they are getting quite expensive now. I love them tho. I made the cakes from julliewn yesterday and have frozen them today. The recipe gave me the medium box size and and 3 of the 7 inch square cakes. They look good. Have already tried one this morning and they are very moist. The smaller ones are ideal for giving away. clair4 - 2010-11-06 17:34:00 |
| 21 | fn1 wrote: http://www.woodencakebox.co.nz/ sells them they start at $30, would make a good xmas pressy for the home cook.... purplegoanna - 2010-11-06 17:49:00 |
| 22 | scout_6001 wrote: wonderful, the motherinlaw gave it to me a few years ago, its reasonably easy and is really moist..... purplegoanna - 2010-11-06 17:50:00 |
| 23 | This message was deleted. cookessentials - 2010-11-06 21:36:00 |
| 24 | tell me, with cooking xmas cake in a wooden box, is it best to cook on fan-bake or non-fan. thanks. mimi1 - 2010-11-07 13:58:00 |
| 25 | smileeah wrote:
Hi.. I made it with 500gms butter for many years, then last year changed it to 250gms butter - and it didn't taste any different or had any different texture at all - and was still beautifully moist.. I made the whole recipe four times last year, all with 250gms butter.. so will continue using that amount. The cakes are quite moist - I always store them in my freezer until a couple of days before they're each needed - they don't freeze hard and the flavour continues to develop, and it means the cakes keep beautifully. Once I've taken one out of the freezer, I keep the cake in my fridge, on a plate and covered with plastic wrap.. I've never kept it out of the fridge - with it being so moist, I prefer to ensure it keeps by using it from the fridge. I've used one straight from the freezer and cut to share - with long cool drinks on a summer afternoon with friends who popped in to say hi, it was exceptional. :-) juliewn - 2010-11-07 15:22:00 |
| 26 | This message was deleted. cookessentials - 2010-11-07 20:50:00 |
| 27 | The member deleted this message. valentino - 2010-11-09 10:29:00 |
| 28 | (Hopes this came through okay, is a table Formatted recipe but very nice, may best be copy and paste into a blank word page then re-align all, Cheers. Rich Fruit Christmas Cake Recipe PLEASE READ THE WHOLE RECIPE FIRST. 8 different sized recipes to suit the occasion ( Read down each column per tin size ) Square Tin ……. Continued...... Edited by valentino at 11:18 am, Tue 9 Nov valentino - 2010-11-09 11:06:00 |
| 29 | When mixing the larger sizes, make sure one has a very large bowl.. valentino - 2010-11-09 11:16:00 |
| 30 | well I made the wooden cake box recipe - a large 26cm one. It looks divine. Hope the taste is as good. mimi1 - 2010-11-09 12:22:00 |
| 31 | This message was deleted. cookessentials - 2010-11-09 13:23:00 |
| 32 | Will the wooden cake box recipe be ok cooked in a normal newspaper lined tin? Will the cooking time need to be adjusted much? smileeah - 2010-11-09 13:49:00 |
| 33 | Thanks Julie, I'm going to try yours; I generally try a different recipe each year and the thought of pineapple sounds very appealing. It might just become the "one" I use every year! wildflower - 2010-11-09 16:18:00 |
| 34 | cookessentials wrote: fn1 - 2010-11-12 10:42:00 |
| 35 | Bumping this up for one looking for a Rich Christmas Cake recipe..... None are complex ???? valentino - 2010-11-12 20:34:00 |
| 36 | Would someone please post the recipe for Nigella Lawson's christmas cake. Thanks. blackbriar - 2010-11-13 17:27:00 |
| 37 | This message was deleted. cookessentials - 2010-11-13 19:22:00 |
| 38 | This message was deleted. cookessentials - 2010-11-13 19:23:00 |
| 39 | Thank you! shanghi - 2010-11-13 20:18:00 |
| 40 | Whoops, that was me above. Didn't realise hubby was logged in. smileeah - 2010-11-14 22:40:00 |
| 41 | blackbriar wrote:
Nigella Lawson's Christmas Cake recipe from How to be a Domestic Goddess can be found here: Edited by lizab at 9:30 am, Mon 15 Nov lizab - 2010-11-15 09:29:00 |
| 42 | The recipe I have for xmas cake only has 2T of sherry in it. Is that sufficient alcohol for it to keep until xmas if I make it now? I don't want to have to keep pouring liberal amounts of alcohol over it or freeze it either.... accroul - 2010-11-16 21:39:00 |
| 43 | ? accroul - 2010-11-17 12:52:00 |
| 44 | Unless it's an extremely wet cake that should be fine. it's not just the alcohol that preserves the cake, it's the very high sugar content from the sugar and dried fruit. davidt4 - 2010-11-17 12:53:00 |
| 45 | Thanks davidt4. accroul - 2010-11-17 14:00:00 |
| 46 | Hi Juliewn forgive me if this question has been asked already. I really like your recipe and am wondering if you have made small single cakes with it? Particularly like the no sugar bit. Cheers suzanna - 2010-11-22 00:35:00 |
| 47 | Hi Suzanna.. I haven't made the recipe as single cakes, however would think they'd be successful.. I'd grease the tins then line them with baking paper, then instead of using newspaper around the outside, I'd use 3 or 4 layers of tinfoil and press them to the shape around the sides and bottom of the outside of the tins. Newspaper could still be used above and below the cakes, as included in my post with the recipe. Enjoy the recipe.. it's delicious.. :-) Cheers.. Julie juliewn - 2010-11-22 02:38:00 |
| 48 | This message was deleted. emmapear - 2011-10-29 19:12:00 |
| 49 | Hi Emma - hope you love the cake.. cool the kids stirred the mix.. and licking the bowl with this cake tastes very good.. :-) juliewn - 2011-10-30 00:27:00 |
| 50 | This message was deleted. emmapear - 2011-10-30 01:55:00 |
