North East Family Fun : Easy Classic Christmas Cake Recipe (Inspired by Mary Berry) (2024)

FAQs

How far in advance should I make a Christmas cake? ›

Some say you should make your Christmas cake 6 weeks before eating, but the advice given on Nigella.com is that 12 weeks before is the optimum time to get baking. Your Christmas cake should be fed every 4 to 6 weeks but in the meantime, after baking, it should be stored away in a secure, air tight container.

In Yorkshire, Christmas cake is usually eaten with Wensleydale, a type of cheese produced in North Yorkshire. It's a tradition that dates back at least to Victorian times, according to food historian Peter Brears from Leeds.

The hole in the center is usually filled with a variety of dried fruits and nuts. In Portugal, it is a popular tradition to include a fava bean in the cake. Whoever finds the fava bean in their slice is considered to have good luck for the coming year.

Soak the fruit overnight so it can absorb the alcohol and plump up.

Wrap the cake in greaseproof paper or baking parchment then wrap it in kitchen foil. Store cake in a second layer of foil or in an airtight tin. You can repeat the feeding process every couple of weeks for three or four feeds.

Store the cakes in airtight containers in a cool dry place, but not in the refrigerator or freezer. Check carefully at least once a week, as rich, moist cakes mould very easily. If you see any mould, throw out the cake. Cutting off the mould and eating the rest of the cake is not a food-safe solution.

Many people say it needs to be eaten with Wensleydale, a type of cheese produced in North Yorkshire... Although some say that cheddar is the way to go. And others say the cake needs to be icing-free. Eating cheese with your Christmas fruit cake is actually a long-held Yorkshire tradition.

Panettone: history and characteristics of this italian cake. People everywhere eat panettone while celebrating their Christmas holidays, perhaps without knowing that the word Panettone comes from the Milanese dialect 'Pan del ton', which means 'luxurybread'. Yes, the Panettone is a local speciality.

Christmas cakes are also commonly made with pudding while a fruit cake uses butter, however there are Christmas cake recipes that do contain butter. The traditional Scottish Christmas cake, also known as the Whisky Dundee, is very popular.

Have you heard about the viral Tom Cruise cake? It's a white chocolate coconut cake from Doan's Bakery – a cake so delicious, Tom apparently gifts it to all of his friends at Christmas. In fact, several of those said friends have talked about it on social media and talk shows.

What is the witches cake? ›

A bizarre form of counter-magic, the witch cake was a supernatural dessert used to identify suspected evildoers. In cases of mysterious illness or possession, witch-hunters would take a sample of the victim's urine, mix it with rye meal and ashes and bake it into a cake.

A Little Debbie Christmas Tree is a small white-chocolate covered and festive decorated yellow cake with whipped cream filling. It's typically in a tree shape, but I wanted to make this as easy as possible – with a sheet cake shape!

What alcohol should you use? Strong, flavourful spirits with a high ABV are ideal for feeding fruitcakes. You can use rum, brandy or whisky for spice, or if you like citrus flavours, try an orange liqueur. Cherry brandy and amaretto will also work well if you prefer these.

For the pudding and the cake, you could substitute the alcohol with apple, orange, red grape or prune juice. The cake can be made ahead but don't feed it.

However, the proportion of butter to other ingredients is fairly low in rich fruit cakes, so it matters less here. We would therefore suggest using whichever butter you have in your fridge and if you use unsalted butter then you may like to add a pinch or two of salt to the cake batter when you make the cake.

How long can you store Christmas cake? Depending on what recipe you use, Christmas cakes can be kept wrapped up in an airtight container for up to three months in advance. Or you can make the cake even earlier and then freeze it, defrosting it when you want to feed or decorate it.

You'll find that most of your favorite Christmas cookie recipes can be made anywhere from a month to six months before the 25th of December. (Consult this handy how-to guide to the matter.) Generally, most recipes will be best if baked and then frozen.

This should come out clean or with a few crumbs attached. Remove the large cake after 3 hours (start checking half an hour before). Remove the cake from the oven, put on a cooling rack and allow to cool completely in the tin. Once the cake has cooled, remove it from the tin.

The most common duration to properly age a fruitcake is about three months. Any quicker will limit the development of complex flavors attributed to the maturing process. You can certainly age your cake for much longer than several months if you'd like, but we know how busy everyday life can be.