Decorated Christmas Cake

Sometimes I think I won’t make a traditional Christmas Cake, but then I usually get a big attack of the guilts and decide Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without it.  Even though I know my son Joseph probably won’t even taste it, I have this need to create ‘food memories’ for when my children are older and reminisce over childhood Christmases.  (Well that’s my hope anyway).  The fact that I am divorced means my children have two Christmas celebrations, one with their father and one with me. I feel this strong sense of responsibility to continue the baking traditions of my mother and to also prepare a more ‘British’ Christmas lunch, knowing they’ll be getting the Italian traditions anyway.  I usually compromise though and always make the very traditional Tortellini in Brodo to start and then we’ll have a traditional roast, sometimes pork, more recently we have been having Turkey. 

I always make Fruit Mince Pies but because I don’t do a Christmas Pudding I feel there is no excuse not to make a Christmas Cake.  My mother would make it all, mince pies, pudding, Christmas Cake, Shortbread and almond bread.  My childhood Christmases were made magical by 3 people.  Firstly my mother and her cooking and the flair she had for entertaining.  Secondly, my father and the Christmas Tree selection every year.  My father would go to the ‘Christmas Tree Farm’, where he would choose a tree that was then chopped down.  Every year my father managed to choose a tree that was way too big, and every year he would swear as he dragged it into the house.  I loved the smell of the pine needles that permeated the house as soon as it crossed the threshold.  Our Christmas Tree was without doubt the tallest in the street.  Our house had a mezzanine level, so imagine the ceiling being two storeys high… so yes.. our tree was always huge. Having said that, my Daddy still managed to always have to chop off a bit at the base to make it a little shorter to allow it to stand upright inside.  The third person that made Christmas magical was my English grandmother Doreen.  She was responsible every year for untangling the Christmas tree lights, and without her, we wouldn’t be able to start to decorate the tree. I have so much nostalgia for these childhood moments and it is these moments – the tree, the food, the Christmas carols, Christmas Eve dinner with Christmas crackers – that I can easily say are among the happiest moments of my life.

I suppose I better say 4 people and include my twin sister Lisa.  I am starting to giggle as I remember how every Christmas Eve we would sneak out and open one present each.  We’d then expertly close it up and then feign our surprise and joy on Christmas morning.  Lisa always had a sneaky way of guessing what I had bought her for Christmas too…. well not exactly guessing as going through my wallet and looking for receipts was one way she discovered her present from me.  Lisa on the other hand would buy me things she’d like… and not necessarily something I’d like.  The best present though from my sister would have to be the year she bought me a bra that she loved…. in HER size…. So it really is the thought that counts, because she ‘thought’ very carefully about how that present would end up as hers.

So, back to Christmas Cake.  My mother’s recipe is double this recipe and also requires six hours in the oven. It really requires the love and care of at least six weeks (better 8) of brandy feeding, and if I am running too late to do her recipe any justice, or if I want an extra, but quicker recipe, this is a great alternative. I sometimes change the fruit a little to make it a bit more interesting and original.  The weight of the fruit stays the same, but I decided to use dried figs, cranberries, dates and visciole (which are a type of sour cherry), to change the normal raisin/sultana/currant combination.

My mother would serve Christmas cake with the top decorated with almonds and glacè cherries.  This cake is decorated in a more traditional fashion and so I don’t add these on the surface of the cake before baking it.  In The United Kingdom, it is traditional to cover a Christmas fruit cake (after it’s been fed with brandy for weeks) with a layer of marzipan, and then a layer of fondant. I have omitted the marzipan layer and used a thin layer of brandy buttercream instead.  The cake is then covered with fondant (sugarpaste) and Christmas decorations made by Mamì.  This cake can be eaten the week you make it.  It won’t be as compact as a cake made and fed with Brandy for 3 months, but it is rich with flavour and not at all dry.  The Brandy Buttercream is a nice accompaniment, but if you are not intending covering your cake in fondant, I would suggest serving this cake with brandy butter. 

This is a recipe made in collaboration with Mamì.

Decorated Christmas Cake

Cake

• 190g (1 ¼ Cups) sultanas
• 180g (1 ½ Cups) Visciole (Italian sour cherry)
• 180g (1 ½ Cups) dried cranberries
• 115g (¾ Cups) chopped dry figs
• 90g (¾ Cup) chopped or slivered almonds
  
• 115g (¾ Cup) chopped dates
• 190ml Rum
  
• 300g softened butter
• 250g (1 ¼ Cups) dark brown sugar
• 4 eggs
• 315g plain flour
• 1 packet baking soda Mamì (1 teaspoon)
  
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon – Mamì
  
• 1 vial aroma Rum – Mamì
  
• 1-3 tablespoons Rum extra, (and then some more)
• 1 kg packet white fondant – Mamì
• Christmas Decorations – Mamì

1. Place all fruit and almonds in a bowl and pour over Rum. Cover and allow to macerate overnight.
2. Preheat oven to 140°C.  Line a 22cm diam cake tin with double layers of baking paper, base and sides.
3. Put the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until light and creamy, about 6-8 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
4. Add the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and Rum aroma and mix well . 
5. Add the fruit and almonds and mix with a wooden spoon by hand until all is combined.
   
6. Spoon the mixture into the prepared cake tin and bake for 2 hours 25 minutes, or until the top of the cake is golden brown and an inserted skewer comes out clean. Using the skewer, poke some holes in the cake and brush over extra Rum while the cake is still warm, and allow cake to cool in tin.
7. Use a spatula, and cover the cake with the brandy buttercream (see recipe below).  Ensure that the entire surface is smooth.
8. Roll out the white fondant and carefully cover cake, removing excess.
9. Use Sugar Glue to apply the Christmas Decorations by Mamì 
   

Brandy Butterceam

• 250g butter (soft at room temperature)
• 500g icing sugar, sifted
• 90ml brandy

1. Beat the butter in an electric mixer together with the sifted icing sugar. Start on a low speed, and then increase speed to whip it into a fluffy buttercream.
2. Add your brandy a little at a time, ensuring that each addition is fully combined before adding more.  Use any leftover buttercream to decorate cupcakes, or any other cake you may wish to bake.
   

Christmas Cake Decorata con l’aiuto di Mamì

Torta

• 190g Uva sultanina
  
• 180g  Visciole
• 180g Cranberry o Mirtilli secchi
• 115g fichi secchi tagliati a pezzi
• 90g di mandorle tagliate a metà
• 115g Datteri tagliati in 4
• 190g Rum
• 300g di burro a temperatura ambiente
• 250g zucchero di canna muscovado
• 4 uova
• 315g di farina ’00’
• 1 bustina di ‘Baking Powder’ bicarbonato di sodio Mamì
• 1 cucchiaino di cannella in polvere – Mamì
• 1 fiala di aroma Rum – Mamì
• 1-3 cucchiai di Rum, extra
•  1 Confezione da 1kg di pasta di zucchero bianco – Mamì
• Decorazioni Natalizie – Mamì

1. Mettere tutta la frutta e le mandorle in una ciotola e versare sopra il rum. Coprire e lasciare macerare durante la notte.
2. Preriscaldare il forno a 140°C. Foderare una tortiera di diametro 22cm con doppio strato di carta da forno, sulla base e sui lati.
3. Mettere il burro e lo zucchero nella ciotola di una planetaria e sbattere fino a quando diventa chiaro e cremoso, circa 6-8 minuti.  Aggiungere le uova una alla volta, sbattendo bene dopo ogni aggiunta.
4. Aggiungere la farina, il bicarbonato, la cannella e l’aroma al Rum e mescolare bene.
5. Aggiungere la frutta e le mandorle, mescolando il tutto a mano con un cucchiaio di legno.
6. Versare l’impasto nella tortiera preparata e cuocere per 2 ore e 25 minuti, o fino a quando la parte superiore della torta è dorata e uno spiedino inserito risulta pulito. Usando lo spiedino, fai dei buchi nella torta e spennella il rum sopra la superficie mentre la torta è ancora calda e poi lasciare la torta raffreddare.
7. Usare una spatola e ricoprire la torta con la crema al burro di brandy (vedi la ricetta sotto).  Assicurarsi che l’intera superficie sia liscia.
8. Stendere la pasta di zucchero e coprire con cura la torta, eliminando l’eccesso.
9. Usare colla edibile per applicare le decorazioni natalizie di Mamì

Crema al Burro al Brandy

• 250g di burro a temperatura ambiente
• 500g di zucchero a velo, setacciato
• 90ml Brandy

1. Tagliare a pezzetti il burro e montarlo con una frusta elettrica sino a renderlo spumoso come panna montata.
2. Aggiungere lo zucchero a velo, un cucchiaio per volta, mescolando delicatamente sino a che tutto lo zucchero non sarà stato incorporato nel composto.
3. Aggiungi il brandy un po’ alla volta, assicurandoti che ogni aggiunta sia completamente incorporata prima di aggiungerne altri.