This isn’t my Christmas cake recipe, this is from the national mark 1930’s Calendar of Cooking, however it does look a very nice mixture so maybe I will try it… but I will half the quantities as only two of us like Christmas pudding!
- ¾ lb self-raising flour
- 6-8 eggs
- 10 oz butter
- 10 oz castor sugar
- 1 ½lbs currants
- ¾ lb sultanas
- ½ lb raisins, halved
- 2 oz glacé cherries, quartered
- ¼ lb sweet almonds, chopped
- 6 oz mixed peel
- zest of 1 lemon
- nutmeg
- 1 tbsp mixed spice
- pinch of salt
- brandy
- grease and line with a double thickness of greaseproof paper a 10″ round cake tin
- beat together butter and sugar ( the recipe actually says “put the butter and sugar in a large basin and work them together unitl a creamy consistency. When using a large quantity of butter and sugar it is better to use the hands. paul Hollywood would approve!)
- beat eggs in separately, folding flour (sieved with the spices and salt) after each one
- gradually add the fruit and nuts, stirring a little brandy at the end, adding enough so the mixture is not too stiff, but it should not be too moist either otherwise, according to the recipe, the fruit will sink
- pour into cake tin, bake at 300°F, 150°C, gas mark 2, for the first 90 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 290°F, 145°C, gas mark 1 for the last three and a half to four hours. if the top is browning too much, take a doubled piece of foil and gently lay it over the top.,
Lois Elsden 