Having almost finished the mince pies my mother made me (I think she makes the best mince pies ever - I have never ever had better - and fear I have no chance of rivalling her prowess) it was quite clearly time to start on the Christmas cake.
A few weeks back I read somewhere (I can't remember who or where) one of those really obvious things which somehow you never consider until it's pointed out to you and which boiled down to practice makes perfect. It was an observation that restaurant cooks make the same dish over and over which is why they get so good at them, and not so many years ago we cooked at home in the same sort of way - a few dishes that appeared again and again and lack of variety aside there's something to be said for it; every time I make bread it gets better because every time I do it I know a little bit more and the same is true of the Christmas cake...
Last years effort was the first fruit cake I'd ever baked - there's nothing very challenging about it - but it was all a bit new and mysterious especially as every recipe is different, second time round I felt I could mess around with it a bit; I found the glacé cherries rather too sweet last time so this year substituted half of them for dried apricots soaked in whisky which for me is a big improvement - next time I might dispense with the cherries altogether. This time round I had a much better idea of how long my oven would take to cook the beast and just generally it all seemed altogether more satisfactory - perhaps because I've discovered that a fruit cake made the way you like it is an altogether more enjoyable proposition than any other sort.
Fruit cake is a recently discovered enthusiasm, or at least the enthusiasm is recently discovered, a nice slab of it (though moderation is necessary) is just the thing to have with a cup of tea; it's rich spiciness transforms even the dullest winter afternoon, I put it down to the solid Victorian comfort of the thing, and the way it feels like it's been built to last and urge the unconverted to have a go... I like the tradition of it too, both in the idea that it's a throw back to the 13th Century crusaders returning with new flavours and ideas, and that my father loves a good fruit cake - they strike me as a very gentlemanly sort of snack and something that calls for further experimentation.
Would it be worth it to make a nutless fruitcake? I always stay away from them because I don't like nuts in my sweets.
ReplyDeleteYou could try a Gumdrop Cake Thomas (remembering to take the black ones out!). I used to make that in the States as a change from the more traditional light/dark varieties. It sounds odd, but it used to go down well!
DeleteThere are all sorts of recipes, plenty don't have nuts, so yes still worth doing.
ReplyDeleteThis was only my second year making Christmas cake and, like you, I tweaked last year's recipe a little and the results were delicious. I love your description of it as a "gentlemanly sort of snack". How true!
ReplyDeleteI think I'll make more this year, but un-iced as it turns out now I've grown up my enthusiasm for fruit cake has grown at the expense of my enthusiasm for pure sugar - this can only be a good thing... I have a book about Afternoon teas - the Gentleman's tea features a fruit cake which has cemented it's reputation in my mind.
DeleteMy father loved boiled fruit cake & was very good at it. I think his original recipe was from the back of a packet of dried fruit & then he adapted it over the years. I also love fruit cake & always made several for Christmas. Now, I make one for my work colleagues. I make fruit cakes during the year as well but the Christmas cake (from Delia Smith's recipe) is different & special.
ReplyDeleteI was beginning to wonder if Christmas cake was a particularly British thing, surprisingly pleased to find it's not - like you say it's something special.
DeleteHere in the US, fruit cake (without the icing) is mostly the butt of many a joke.
DeleteIt can be here too Thomas, but Christmas wouldn't be the same without it. Hope you make one soon.
DeleteIt's ages since I made a fruit cake, might try my mums lb fruit cake some point in the new year. Need to lose the Christmas pounds first!
ReplyDeleteBut the Christmas pounds are the only sort I ever manage to save ;)
DeleteIt looks wonderful. Well done you! It's so true, and I think an important point for younger cooks to remember, that us older cooks are generally more practised in the basics (can't tell you how many Christmas cakes of all sorts I've made over the years, especially as I spent so many of them as an expat without the ability to find the bought variety!) and ofc it's like riding bike your hands remember even if it has been a few years.
ReplyDeleteIt's something I'm just beginning to appreciate Donna, it's all the accumulated experience and little tips that you pick up along the way - confidence too, and not just the 'I'm sure it'll succeed variety, I don't mind when things go wrong nearly as much these days. Hope you had a wonderful New Year :)
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