THE CHRISTMAS CAKE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 16 December 1940, Page 8

THE CHRISTMAS CAKE

A GOOD STANDBY FOR THE SUMMER HOLIDAYS. The time is slipping swiftly by to Christmas and all wise housewives are making every possible preparation to avoid the last-minute rush which so frequently occurs. Christmas pudding should be all finished by now, but there still remains the Christmas cake to be made. There should be a Christmas cake in every household as this is always a good standby for the summer holidays when there are frequent visitors popping in and the weather is too warm to do much cooking. Here are some really good welltested recipes and every housewife should find one that will please. Whichever is chosen the recipes for almond and royal icing may be used. CHRISTMAS CAKE (No. 1). Ingredients: 11b butter, lib light brown sugar, IJlbs flour, J teaspoonful salt, 21bs sultanas, 11b raisins, -Jib candied peel, Jib almonds, Jib dates, Jib cherries and preserved ginger, Jib figs, 12 eggs, a wineglass of rum, 1 teaspoonful spice and cinnamon, J nutmeg (grated), 1 teaspoonful each of lemon, almond and vanilla essences. Method: Cream the butter and sugar well with the hand until light,. ,add the eggs unbeaten one at a time, beating each one out of sight before adding the next. Cut the fruit up small and add the spices and a quarter of the flour and mix well through. Now add the essences and rum to the mixture, beat the flour well in and lastly add the fruit a little at a time. When placing the mixture in the cake tin be sure to arrange it so that the shape will be good when it is cooked. Place two sheets of paper in the bottom and then arrange the sides so that they stand up without folds, snipping them at the top to keep them straight. Place some of the mixture in the corner and push well in, then push it along the side and put more in the next corner and so on until the sideu and corners are well filled. When all the mixture is in the tin make a deep circle in the centre so that the top will be quite smooth.

Cook the cake for about four hours in a moderate oven. In an electric stove the heat should be 400 degrees to start with. Leave it on high for a minute or two to warm the cake through, then turn off the top element and the bottom one to low and leave until cooked.

CHRISTMAS CAKE (No. 2). Ingredients: IJlbs flour, Tib sugar, lib butter, 8 eggs, pinch of salt, J teaspoonful baking powder (this is optional, some people prefer no rising in a Christmas cake), 21bs sultanas, Jib chopped dates, Alb seeded raisins, -Jib glace cherries, Jib almonds, 6ozs chopped peel, J wineglass brandy, J wineglass sherry, essence of vanilla. Method: Cream the butter and sugar, and add the eggs one by one, unbeaten and beat thoroughly until the sugar is dissblved. Chop the almonds and mix all the fruit together well. Add the flour and fruit alternately to the creamed mixture and lastly add the brandy, sherry and va'nilla essence and beat all together well. Line the tin with 4 to G layers of greaseproof paper and pour in the mixture. Bake in a moderate oven for 5 hours. In a gas stove have the oven really hot and place the cake in at No. 2 and do not open the door for at least two hours.

CHRISTMAS CAKE (3). Take lib flour, Jib butter, 6 eggs, 4 teaspoonful vanilla essence, 3oz mixed peel, 11b currants, pinch salt, 2 teaspoonfuls baking-powder, 2 teaspoonfuls rose-water, Jib brown sugar, H gill made coffee, lib raisins, 1 level teaspoonful mixed spice, ■} teaspoonful ground mace, .2 teaspoonfuls treacle. Sift flour, salt, baking-powder, mace, and spice into a basin. Soften butter and sugar in a basin, not melting butter too much. Beat to a cream, add well-beaten eggs and flour mixture alternately to butter and sugar till eggs are used up and flour nearly so. Add remainder of flour, coffee, and treacle alternately till all are mixed in. Beat well after each addition. Lastly stir in prepared fruit, finely-minced peel, rose-water, and vanilla.' JPlace in a greased tin lined with two folds of buttered paper. Make a slight hollow in the centre with the back of a wooden spoon. Bake in a moderate oven for about two and a half hours. Test with a skewer to see if cake is ready.

RICH FRUIT CAKE. Ingredients: 12 eggs, 2 pieces of citron, 1 libs butter, Hlbs flour, 1 wineglassful each of brandy and sherry, 21bs raisins, lllb currants, 11b almonds, 1.5 lb brown sugar, A- teaspoonful ground mace, 21 teaspoonfuls baking powder, i teaspoonful ground cloves, 1 teaspoonful cinnamon and 1 teaspoonful ground spice. Method: Prepare the fruit and rub in some of the flour. Cream the butter and sugar, add beaten egg yolks, then fruit, flavouring and whites beaten stiffly. Lastly add the flour sifted with the baking powder. Bake in a moderate oven 21 to 3 hours. GOOD PLUM CAKE. Take 2 cupfuls brown sugar, 2 cupfuls butter, 5 cupfuls flour, 11b currants, lib raisins, 4 eggs, 2 teaspoonfuls ground cinnamon, 2 teaspoonfuls baking powder, 6oz mixed peel, 1 pint milk, i- cupful treacle, 1 teaspoonful ground cloves, .j teaspoonful ground mace, and a pinch of salt. Melt the butter a little, then beat it well. Add sugar and eggs gradually, beating w.ell after every addition. Continue beating and add the treacle, the spices, chopped raisins, washed and dried currants, the flour sifted with the baking powder, milk and salt. Put in a greased tin lined with three folds of well-greased paper, and bake in a moderate oven. Takes from 21 to 3 hours to bake.

j ALMOND ICING. The almond icing should be made as follows:— Ingredients: Lib ground almonds, 21bs sifted icing sugar, 1 good teaspoonful or more of almond essence, 2 eggs (it is best to use the yolks as well as the whites because they improve the colour and make the icing stiff). It may be necessary to add a little warm water to make the icing the right consistency. It should be kneaded well and then rolled out. Before putting on the almond icing, cover the cake with a paste made from well-sifted icing sugar and warm water, then cut the almond icing into shape for the top and put on cut strips for the sides and fit into place. To make a more economical almond icing use half ground almonds and half ground rice.

ROYAL ICING. Make the Royal Icing as follows: Take the whites of two eggs beaten up well with a knife and to this add enough well-sifted icing sugar to make the icing of a consistency that a knife will stand up in it. Beat with a knife for at least a quarter of an hour. A teaspoonful of glycerine and rosewater added to the icing keeps it moist. This icing should be put on several days before decorating is done because if the icing is well set the decorations can be easily removed if a mistake is made. . . For decorating the icing may be c oured with vegetable dyes. , si:>ln ‘ nrl leaves for green, bluebag for blue and a mixture of egg yolk and coc nnea for apricot icing. Buttei ‘S 1 ’ ° , only be used on a cake which will not be kept for any length of .^f 1( ? e s the butter becomes rancid and 1 th For l "cake that has not almond icing is kept. - I