Spiced Christmas Cake
Photography by Manja Wachsmuth.
This recipe, passed down to my aunt from my paternal grandmother, has been a family favorite for years. I would always politely turn down Christmas Cake until I tried this one. Sweetened with condensed milk and delicately spiced with curry powder, this moist, rich cake will continue to please well after Christmas – if there is any left.
INGREDIENTS
397 gram tin sweetened condensed milk
125 grams butter
2 tablespoons golden syrup
4 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon rum
1 teaspoon lemon essence
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ cup milk, warmed
2 cups plain flour
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon each ground mace and cloves
2 cups currants
2 cups raisins
2 cups sultanas
2 cups dried cranberries
1 cup pitted dates, chopped
1 cup walnut pieces, roasted
425 g tin sliced pineapple, drained and diced
To finish
1 cup brandy, plus extra for weekly dousing
22 cm x 9 cm deep, square cake tin, lined with a double thickness of brown paper
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 120˚C.
Put the condensed milk, butter and golden syrup in a small saucepan over a low heat. Stir until the butter is melted and ingredients are combined. Pour into a large bowl and cool.
Whisk in the eggs, one at a time, then add the vanilla, rum and lemon essence.
Combine the baking soda and milk in a small bowl then add to the egg mixture.
Sift the flour, salt, and spices together in a large bowl and add the fruit, walnuts and pineapple, tossing so they are well coated in the flour. Using a large metal spoon fold into the wet ingredients in three batches, ensuring there are no pockets of flour in the batter.
Spoon the batter into the tin.
Bake for 3 – 3½ hours. A skewer inserted into the center of the cake should come out clean.
While the cake is still hot, using a thin skewer, gently poke holes over the entire cake then pour over the brandy.
Keep the cake wrapped in muslin in an airtight container. Drizzle with an extra 1/8 cup of brandy each week before Christmas.
If you wish to decorate the cake, top with a layer of marzipan and decorate with dried nuts and fruits. We used roasted walnut halves, dried cranberries and slivers of dried dates.
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Issue #122
Our latest of dish is an absolute bumper issue, packed with over 70 recipes! We start by chatting with the MasterChef Australia judges and Kiwi contestant Ben Mcdonald before cooking up the very best of what’s in season. Then we make freezer meals easy and delicious with double-batch cooking. Next up we share some of our faves including Pretzel-crumbed Chicken Schnitty and French Onion Soup Mac and Cheese. Then we whip up warming curries, tempting dinners for two, epic sides like our Parmesan-crusted Roasted Potatoes, and crowd pleasers like our cover-star Miso French Onion Chicken. We finish up with irresistible sweet treats and a run-down of top Aussie shiraz!