All About Christmas

Fruit Ingredients

• 600 g currants
• 400 g sultanas
• 400 g glacé cherries, quartered
• 200 g raisins
• 100 g cut candied peel
• 200 ml sherry
• 100 ml brandy
• 50 ml kirsch (or rum)

Cake Ingredients

• 4 medium eggs
• 300 g lightly salted soft margarine (The “Stork” brand is traditional)
• 300 g dark brown sugar
• 100 g self-raising flour
• 200 g plain flour
• 100 g finely-chopped almonds
• 2 teaspoons of ground mixed spice
• 2 tablespoons of black treacle

Directions

1. Place all the fruit in a large bowl and pour the spirits over the mixture. Cover the bowl in metal foil and leave in a cool place. Mix and stir the fruit every day for at least three days; after a fortnight most of the alcohol will have soaked in and further soaking has no benefit.

2. First beat together the sugar and margarine with the eggs. Add the almonds and black treacle and mix further. Sieve the flours and the mixed spice into the mixture, beating until a smooth mixture results. Then combine with the pre-prepared fruit (above) and place in a tin lined with baking parchment.

3. Bake in 300°F (~160°C) oven for about 80 minutes. Check it at 60 minutes with a cake tester stick. Let cool in pan for 5 minutes turn onto a rack to cool completely.

This Christmas Cake recipe makes 10 servings. Preparation time circa 4 days. Christmas Cake recipe difficulty level medium.

Tags: Christmas, Christmas Cake, Christmas Recipes
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Ingredients

• 9 ounces (250 g) bread dough from the baker’s shop
• 90 ounces (2.5 kg) flour
• 35 ounces (1 kg) sugar
• 26 ounces (750 g) banha, this is pork fat
• 17 ounces (500 g) butter
• 1 ounce (25 g) erva-doce, this is Anise herbs, mashed and sifted
• 1.75 ounce (50 g) canela (cinnamon)
• 1 ounce (25 g) cravinho da India, (Cloves in powder form)
• 17 ounces (500 g) walnut, cut into halves
• 9 ounces (250 g) ground almonds
• 1.75 ounce (50 g) candied lemon peel, cut into cubes
• 60 ounces (1.8 l) pure honey
• 5 tablespoons of baking soda, dissolved in the wine
• 1 cup of Madeira wine
• juice and zest of 4 oranges

Directions

1. One day before making the cake, buy the bread-dough at the baker’s shop, sprinkle a little bit of flour on the dough, put it in a towel and keep it in a warm place until the next day.
2. Put the baking soda into the Madeira wine, dissolve. In a pan warm up the honey, mix the butter and pork fat (if not available, just use butter), dissolve. Let this mixture cool.
3. Sift flour into a bowl, mix in the sugar, make a well and put the bread dough into it. Now work the flour-sugar mixture into the bread dough. As soon as this is well joined, start to incorporate little by little the (tepid) honey-fat mixture. Add some of the candied lemon peel, as well as the Madeira wine, orange juice and orange zest, anise, cinnamon, and cloves.
4. Incorporate and knead thoroughly until the dough doesn’t stick to the bowl. Cover the dough with a towel and put it in a warm spot. Keep it in a warm place for 3-4 days.
5. Divide the dough into parts of 250g or 500g or 750 g, depending on the pans to put into the oven. This cake is made in wide, round pans which are rather low. Before going into the oven, the cake is decorated with half-walnuts, sliced almonds and the rest of the candied lemon peel.
6. Grease the baking pans. Bake about 50 minutes 355 °F (180 °C). Let cool down before taking it out of the baking pan.

This Madeira Honey Cake Christmas recipe makes 8 servings. Preparation time circa varies, anticipate 40 minutes in the beginning. The Madeira Honey Cake needs to then rest for 3-4 days. Baking time 50 minutes. Madeira Honey Cake Christmas recipe difficulty level very hard.

Tags: Christmas, Christmas Recipes, Madeira Honey Cake
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Ingredients

• ½ pound (lb) (225g) raisins
• ¾ lb (340g) currants
• ½ lb (225g) sultanas
• ½ lb (225g) sugar (or less)
• ¾ lb (340g) shredded suet (can be vegetarian; see note below)
• ½ lb (225g) breadcrumbs
• ¼ lb (110g) crystallised peel
• 2 teaspoons (tsp) cinnamon
• 2 oz (55g) almonds (chopped, but not too small)
• 1/3 cup (about 60g) flour
• 1/3 pint (about 190ml) milk
• 3 large eggs (beaten)
• Brandy
• Juice and rind of 1 lemon
• 1/3 of a nutmeg

Directions

1. Mix and stir well.
2. Place in pudding basins, and cover with cloths or buttered greaseproof paper, tied tightly in place with string.
3. Steam for 7 hours and keep till Christmas day.
4. To prepare for serving, steam for 2 hours. Times can be reduced by using a pressure cooker.

This Christmas Pudding recipe makes two pints of pudding. Or two one pint puddings. Preparation time circa 9 hours over several days. Christmas Pudding recipe difficulty level hard.

Tags: Christmas, Christmas Pudding, Christmas Recipes
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