Christmas Cake Time for Tea by Celia Klassen

Just like I was a bit late to give you a recipe for pastry, I’m a bit late to give you the recipe for Christmas cake because technically you should have made it back in the summer and been ‘feeding’ it.
You all know I love a bit of history; where do traditions come from? Well, the history of Christmas cakes goes back to the 16th Century! Originally it was plum pudding, which was more of a porridge. The lead-up to Christmas was a fasting period and oatmeal would fill them up with not very much food. It wasn’t until later, when the richer families had ovens and not just open fires to cook on, that cakes were born.
Christmas cake was originally called “twelfth cake” and would have more traditionally been served at parties on the Twelfth Night (ending the 12 days of Christmas; on the fifth of January). Twelfth Night used to be more popular than it is now, until the Industrial Revolution made time off work more limited, and more people returned to work immediately after Christmas. The big celebrations then became concentrated around Christmas day and the Twelfth Night cakes became Christmas cakes.
Now, “Christmas cake” is a labor of love (or hate!) where you make a fruitcake six months before Christmas, and then you ‘feed’ the cake with brandy. You would keep the cake wrapped in foil, unwrap the cake, poke small holes in it, and then spoon on 1-2 tbs. of brandy every couple of weeks. Then you cover it with a layer of marzipan and then fondant before decorating it. The end result of all that feeding, in my opinion, is a strong, bitter cake, countered by the marzipan and fondant. If you’d like to do the feeding tradition, but want to stay away from alcohol, fruit juices will work as well, particularly grape juice.
Another option for Christmas is the “Christmas Pudding”. You’ll need to remember that “pudding” overseas is actually a word we commonly use instead of “dessert”. So quickly put away the thought of “pudding” that first came to mind.
A traditional Christmas Pudding needs a pudding basin or pudding mold. Since I wasn’t a big fan of this dessert I am trying to remember what Granny cooked hers in. The shape is very similar to a bowl, but steeper sides so that your finished product, when turned upside down, is like half an egg with a flat top. The real fun with this dessert happens at the table, but let’s start with the recipe. Unlike last week’s recipe…this one doesn’t have a short ingredient list!
1 cup dried currants (if you can’t find them, use more raisins, but you really need them to be authentic)
3/4 cup raisins
3/4 cup golden raisins/sultanas
2 tablespoons finely chopped candied orange peel (it’s available at Winco at this time of year or you can look up a recipe to make your own)
2 tablespoons finely chopped walnuts or almonds
1/2 cup brandy
2 cups fresh white breadcrumbs
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon mixed spice (pumpkin pie/allspice/apple pie spice)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 ounces shredded beef suet (amazon has it, or ask your local butcher)
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 small granny smith apple peeled, cored and grated
1 tablespoon molasses
Zest of one lemon
Zest of one orange
Place raisins, sultanas, currants, almonds, and candied citrus peel in a bowl. Pour the brandy over it and stir to combine. Cover and let sit overnight.
The next day, place the breadcrumbs, flour, baking powder, brown sugar and spices in a bowl and stir to combine.
In another bowl add the soaked fruit mixture, grated apple, molasses, suet, zests and egg. Stir to combine.
Add the dry mixture to the fruit mixture and thoroughly combine. It will be thick and sticky.
Put your pudding mold upside down on parchment paper and draw a circle around it.
Generously butter your pudding mold and scoop the batter into it, pressing down and smoothing the top.
Cut out the parchment circle, lightly butter the paper and place it butter side down on top of your filled mold.
Tear off two pieces of parchment paper large enough to cover the top and part way down the side of the mold. Secure the papers by folding down the sides and tying it securely with string. You can use rubber bands to hold it in place while you tie the string but you’ll need to remove the rubber bands afterward.
Bring a large pot of water to a very low simmer. Place a trivet or folded cloth on the bottom of the pot (hint, instapots usually come with something that will work here).
Lower the pudding mold down into the water, the water should come half way up the pudding mold. Cover the pot with a lid.
Steam the pudding over a very low heat for approximately eight hours. The water should not be boiling, but steaming. Check periodically to make sure the water level is still half way, adding water if needed.
Carefully lift the pudding out and let it sit for five minutes. Then invert the pudding onto a plate and let it sit until the pudding slides out of the mold.
You can store it at this point by letting it cool and tightly wrapping it in plastic wrap and foil. It should then be stored in a cool dark place. If you don’t have anywhere then you can store it in the fridge, but it tends to dry out if you do that. A basement would be ideal.
When ready to serve, re-steam it for 30 to 60 minutes or microwave it.
Once everyone is gathered around the table you pour brandy all over the pudding and use a lighter or match to light the pudding on fire! The alcohol is then burned off and it’s safe for children to eat, although they’ll probably find it too bitter. Serve with custard or brandy butter.
You can also sing “we wish you a merry Christmas” while waiting for the cook to bring the pudding to the table. Specifically the verse “So bring us some figgy pudding…and bring it right here!”