Long Term Project of the Month. September 2015. 'My Favourite Fruit Cake.'

This recipe comes from 'Mary Berry Cooks the Perfect, Step by Step.' by Mary Berry. Page 314. 

It is Autumn already which means it is a grand time to do either a Christmas Pudding or a Christmas Cake. We do prefer Christmas Cake in our home so when we saw Mary Berry's recipe with her cake picture, it became a must do.

This is not a one day job and you are done with it affair with that beautiful cake. It is a love affair to nurture for weeks and months. My partner and I were both slaving over it. 

Dried Fruits galore.

First come the dried fruits task, once all the measuring is done, when all are mixed with the rind of two oranges, they are left to soak in the sherry for three days, with a good daily stir. 


Now we couldn't lose beautiful oranges so their juices went in with the dried fruits along with the sherry. This was our only minute change on the recipe.

Treacle, treacle, little star.

After the days of soaking, came the cooking the cake day and all hand were on board once more to create Mary's marvel. I must say her recipe is easy to follow. Before our eyes the cake mixture built up ready to pour into the cake tin. Add the soft muscovado sugar, then this, then that. Blend.

Soft Muscovado Sugar.

Marcona Almonds

Then comes the fruity goodness, then comes the crunchy nuts goodness, the almonds and the Brazil nuts. 

Brazil Nuts.

The final cake mixture.

'Et Voilà!' one Christmas cake was ready to go in the oven. You have that child like excitement at that moment but even more so later, four hours and a half, when you take it out to rest and cool out of the oven. 

Ready to go in the oven.

The other magical moment is when you finally remove the baby from its tin. There you have the fruit of your labour: your Christmas Cake. But hold on, the process is not finish yet, that baby is fed with lovely sherry every week until Christmas day when you get to eat it and be all merry.

Cooling off.

The incentive for my creative self is to get some skills in icing before then to decorate the Cake for the big day. Big Project, Big time with that Baby and looking very much to it. So this post will be updated with the result at a later stage.