CHRISTMAS CAKES

New Zealand Listener, Volume 9, Issue 227, 29 October 1943, Page 19

CHRISTMAS CAKES

LL things considered, we should be wise to make our Christmas cakes, puddings and mincemeat at once, while the necessary ingredients are available. Besides eggs and butter, we can now get, at most stores and grocers, a well-blended variety of cake-fruits and nuts, all ready for use, cleaned by special machinery-a real blessing in these busy times, often saving a tramp from shop to shop to get the ingredients separately, besides the weighing out and subsequent cleaning and picking over. This fruit is sold in pound packets, and is all ready to be spread out on a meat-dish and warmed in the oven before mixing in with the well-mixed butter and sugar and eggs. The very well-known and highly-quali-fied demonstrator of cooking, whom many of you saw and heard at the Centennial Exhibition, recommended this heating of fruit before putting it into the cake. Most people have special ideas of their own for the mixing and cooking of Christmas cakes; and any good hints you can send in will be very helpful to our younger home-makers. Some people advise mixing a teaspoonful of glycerine in with each pound of butter; and a little sprinkle of cayenne: pepper in with the fruit; which does away with the necessity for spirits. Others pin their faith to the addition of a little curry powder to the uncooked mixture; and this gives a delicious flavour, as well as taking the place of brandy. Rich fruit cakes should be cooked slowly in a very moderate oven. No hard and fast rules can be laid down, for the time and heat must vary according to the kind of mixture,:the depth of the cake, and so on. Each must try for herself, and adjust the heat as time goes on) according to whether the cake is browning as she wishes. It does not hurt the cake to open the oven and appraise its progress after the first hour. The cake may need to be put higher or lower in the oven. A fairly safe rule is to put a pound cake in at 320 degrees, or Regulo 3 on the Champion Stoves, and Regulo 2 on the New World. A pound cake will take from 5 to 6 hours at this temperature. With an electric stove, an approximate rule for a pound cake is to put it in at 350 degrees with the top element off and the bottom one to low; and place it just a little under the centre of the oven. Wholemeal Christmas Cake (Margaret) This recipe has been proved over and over again by Margaret, who sends it overseas regularly. Half a pound each of butter, raw sugar, sultanas, currants, raisins; pinch of salt, 2 ozs. peel, 2 eggs, 2% breakfast cups fine wholemeal, 4% heaped teaspoon of baking soda, % pint of hot milk. Beat the butter and sugar; then add the beaten eggs. Mix the soda in the hot milk. Sift the wholemeal and mix with the fruit. Add milk and wholemeal alternately, little by little, till all is mixed in. Bake from 3 to 5 hours:Regulo 3 for first half hour, then at 2 for one hour, then at 1 for the remainder of the cooking. Two level teaspoons of curry powder added to this recipe has the same effect as brandy, and gives the cake a delicious flavour. For overseas,

bake the cake in the tin you are sending it in+-this recipe fits very well into the squafe tin nearly always on sale. The cake weighs 4 lbs. When cooked, remove it from the tin; wash and dry tin thoroughly; remove all paper from the cake; let it dry out; wrap in fresh lunch paper and repack in tin. Seal tin airtight. Special Christmas Cake This is a well-proved recipe from the days of the old 1ZR Radio Station. Half pound butter, 5 eggs, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 10 ozs. flour, % teaspoon each of the following essences: vanilla, lemon, pineapple, brandy, cherry, almond, and any other flavouring at all; 14% Ib. sugar, 2 Ib, fruit, 4% to ¥2 teaspoon curry: powder. Prepare fruit and sprinkle with flour. Put in a warm place while creaming butter and sugar. Also have flour sifted ready, and in a warm place. When butter and sugar are nicely creamed, add eggs one at a time, and sprinkle in a little flour with each egg to prevent curdling. Now add curry powder, then fruit and flour ‘alternately, baking powder last. Quickly turn mixture into wellgreased tin, and bake in moderate oven for 342 hours (approx.); oven 300 degrees to start, and after the first 34 hours, the heat may be lowered. Twenty-Minute Christmas Cake This is well recommended and takes only 20 minutes to make, thus saving a good deal of "arm-work." One pound each of butter, sugar, sultanas, currants, raisins; 9 eggs, 1% Ibs. flour, 4% lb. peel, % lb. almonds (or chopped walnuts), % pkt. spice, a grated nutmeg, or 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg. Mix all dry ingredients, including fruit. Melt all butter and let cool slightly. Beat all eggs well, and add to them the butter. Pour this into the dry ingredients’ and beat well till smooth. A wihe glass of whisky or brandy can be added if liked. Bake in a large tin for 6 hours. The £100 Prize Cake This is an Australian recipe, and was very popular in N.Z. a year or two ago. One pound each of butter, sugar and currants, 14 Ibs. sultanas, 42 lb. seeded raisins, 1% lb cherries, 6 ozs. almonds (optional), 2 ozs. peel, 1% lbs. flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 8 eggs, 2 tablespoons orange marmalade, grated rind of 1 orange, grated rind and juice of 1 lemon, 1 saltspoon salt, Yy cup brandy (optional). Prepare fruit previous day, by blanching almonds, and splitting them. Shred peel and grate rind; pour lemon juice and brandy over all and cover closely till needed.