Christmas Cake

 

Christmas Cake

Eva Burke

 

Christmas Cake

Drawing by Eva Burke

What you need:

225g/8oz plain flour (sieved)

175g/6oz butter or margarine

225g/8oz brown sugar

350g sultanas

350g fruit mix

100g cherries

100g chopped almonds

100g ground almonds

3 large eggs

100g mixed peel

1 teaspoon mixed spice

100ml of Irish whiskey

How to make:

1. Put butter/margarine, sugar, fruit, mixed peel and 50ml of whiskey into a large saucepan.
2. Slowly bring to the boil, stirring occasionally until butter/margarine is melted.
3. Turn off heat and leave to cool for approximately 30 mins.
4. Meanwhile pre-heat oven to 140c and line tin with grease proof paper.
5. Stir the eggs, nuts and ground almonds into the fruit mixture and mix well.
6. Stir the sieved flour and mixed spice.
7. Spoon the mixture into the tin and smooth it out evenly.
8. Bake for 2½ to 3 hours. After 2 hours cover with paper if cake is browning too quickly. To check if the cake is baked through, insert a skewer into the middle.
9. Make holes on top of warm cake and pour over rest of whiskey.
10. Leave cake in tin to cool.
11. When cold, wrap in grease proof paper and then tinfoil. Store in a cool dry place.

Original Writing