The Christmas Cake That's Ready the Day You Bake It

A suitable Christmas cake may take It takes up to three months to fully develop its flavor. As for my cake, it only needs a little more time. This is my family's special Christmas cake. Dark, rich, and bursting with fruits and flavor It will be ready on the day it is baked. Hello, I'm Jim Stafford, a professional chef from Ireland. Today I'll show you a method for preparing a fruit cake that takes three months to make. Likewise, the wonderful sugar you can use to give your cake a beautiful color and flavor I will share my Irish family's Christmas tradition with you. Unlike most Christmas cakes, fruit cakes, and others This cake starts right here It's similar to a concentration process to obtain the maximum flavor. The strength and splendor without having to wait for three months So we will start on the stove by adding all our fruits Here we have some wonderful stuffed raisins. For most of the holiday desserts in Ireland Everything begins with the same foundation. Fruits, alcohol, and a lot of sugar Here we have golden raisins. And if you see a recipe that requires Sultana, dried raisin, guess what? It's actually golden raisins. Guess what? I just found out about it about a year ago. I really feel that I should have known that earlier. But I didn't know But now you know So a lot of golden raisins and some maraschino cherries We use a lot of sweet cherries in Ireland. If you can buy it from your store, that's great. If you can't, don't worry. I have a recipe for making it yourself at home. It's fresh cherries macerated in sugar syrup, and it's really delicious. I only ask that you try to purchase good quality. Because that vivid red cherry is not the best Here we have some pirates. Dried plums Cut it properly. Fruit combinations vary from person to person in Ireland. This is my special blend If you go to your cupboard and see what you have You can use what you have available as long as you meet the required weight. But this is the balance of flavors and texture that I love. To this mixture, we will add some lemon zest and water. And what we call in Ireland "uisce," that is, whiskey I love drinking whiskey. You can use rum or brandy or anything similar to that. The reason I prefer using whiskey is that it is, in fact, whiskey. An Irishman special to my family from the region where I grew up, southeast Ireland My cousin Michael Stafford is packing it up in southeast Ireland. Woodriscoll is my grandfather's name. I grew up knowing him, and he has a wonderful taste. You can buy it online. I'll put the link in the description box and you can access it. He is present in America and indeed throughout the world. So these are all our components Here, magic happens. Put on the cover. This is very important. The stove is on. What we're doing here is speeding up the process we usually follow with a birthday cake. When making a birthday cake, we soak the fruit before it. At least one night, and sometimes up to several days But here, this is more like a quick birthday cake Therefore, we will gently cook the fruit with alcohol, and it will become fully filled and tender. Putting on the lid is crucial because it will trap the steam inside. It will preserve the flavor and help the fruit become fuller. This process will give you a flavor and a tender, full-bodied texture just like Irish Christmas cake without having to wait for days So it's a kind of secret trick. October is the time when Irish families usually begin preparing Christmas cakes and pastries, fruit fillings prepared for the month of December The reason we do this is to allow the cake to mature and develop its flavors. This happens because it contains a lot of sugar, as we will see in a few minutes. The high alcohol content helps preserve the cake and sweets and prevents them from spoiling. If you don't want to add alcohol, feel free to use orange juice. That's perfectly fine. Just know that without alcohol, you won't be able to keep the cake fresh for long. You may need to place it in the refrigerator or freezer. Otherwise, you can proceed using orange juice. A few minutes have passed now. Our mixture is simmering on low heat. I can say we're finished because when flipped I find that a large amount of liquid has been absorbed and the fruit has become moist. This is the purpose of this step: to moisten that fruit. We usually prepare a traditional cake. We soak the fruit in a cold liquid overnight. Heating the liquid enables it to absorb and moisten the fruit more quickly. If you asked me, the result would be slightly better. So you truly get all that flavor. Look at that juicy, plump, saturated with alcohol and wonderful flavors. Ready to be the base for a Christmas cake It has absorbed almost all the liquid. Once you reach this stage, you can proceed to the next step. Turn off the fire and follow me carefully to the work platform. So when you lift the fruit off the stove Let it rest for about twenty minutes. Let it cool down, and most importantly, leave it to cool before Adding the other ingredients because we will add the eggs shortly Alright, I'm completely cold now. As you can see, it looks wonderful, full, and soft—all in just a few minutes. So this temperature is suitable, and what distinguishes this cake We will prepare and mix it directly in the same pot. No need for mixers or additional containers It's a very direct and practical approach. Now we add the butter. Best uses for salted butter Then we add the sugar In Britain and Ireland, it is very common to use muscovado sugar. We use it in many of our holiday recipes. It is simply natural, unrefined cane sugar. It has an exquisite flavor reminiscent of dulce de leche and caramel. If you can't find it, you can use dark brown sugar instead. This is the muscovado sugar I use. Because we use different types of brown sugar in Ireland and England I created a post on the website Piper Boldbank.com to explain these types. All of this is to ensure the correct type is used in the appropriate recipe. Mix the brown sugar and butter until the butter melts and dissolves. Sugar is almost due to the residual heat in the fruit. I can feel that the sugar has completely dissolved while stirring. For your information, the reason for mixing butter and sugar first is cooling. The mixture is more before adding the remaining ingredients So I have some flour here The flour we use for this cake is flour. Self-rising because it contains a leavening agent Although the cake is very heavy, it makes it slightly lighter. If you can't find it at my store, I have a small recipe on BigBolderBaking.com All you need is a little bit of regular flour and baking soda. We have the usual spices we use for making cake in Ireland. We have the problematic spices, cinnamon, cloves, and English spices. I know this is a lot of different spices I usually substitute the problematic spices with pumpkin spices. Then I mix a little of it together. I have a recipe for mixed spices on BigBaked.com The reason I placed her in this position is that many people Outside Ireland and England, they requested the recipe. It was also difficult for me to find her. So you can actually make it yourself very easily First, just mix all the dry ingredients together like this until the spices are well combined. Then add them to the sliced fruit with almond slices. This is a very thin slice of peeled and sliced. Now, regarding the eggs, make sure to beat them very well. First, to mix more easily in the bowl It should also be at room temperature. Even if the fruit is still slightly warm, the cold egg won't cook on the surface. Then quickly mix everything together until you obtain a smooth and rich mixture. As I mix the cake, I'll share with you the tradition I mentioned about what we do in Ireland. When I was older, whenever my mother made a cake, she would make us We five children enter to stir the mixture and wish a wish. We would line up, and each one of us would do that. It's very common. Many Irish families do that. It's an ancient tradition to the extent that we have a day called "Movable Tuesday." I remember making a short clip about him that aired. There's George, and how we all did the animation together That was really fun. That's all I've wished for—my dream, I hope it comes true. Alright, great. It's time to put it in the template. Now let's talk about cake molds I remember every holiday season when my mother used to make Christmas cookies. She was preparing all her molds. She used to make many of them and prepare them the day before, then bake them. Christmas cake takes a very long time to bake. This will take about two hours to two hours and fifteen minutes. It's a long time inside the mold. So here's the trick High-quality template with raised edges This is a large, old-fashioned truffle cake. Good quality means it will be thicker and offer better protection. The cake is from the oven's heat because it will remain inside it for a long time. Now this is very important: reinforce the bottom and the sides. You can even line the edges twice. This not only helps you remove the cake but also protects the sides. Also prevents it from burning by remaining for a long time. So this is really important. A well-prepared template is what you need. This template is eight inches in size, and its sides are actually Four inches in height instead of two inches like the standard mold I can place a link on the website. To the place where I obtained this template This cake is very thick, as you can see, so use a rolling tool. To be honest, even a butter knife, because it's usually closer. Just level the surface; try to make it as smooth as possible. The reason is that it's a dense and heavy cake. It won't melt and move like you know, the yellow cake or Madeira cake. So make its surface well level. And thus we have finished. It's ready. It's very heavy, so it will take some time. So let's put it in the oven. The secret to the large fruit cake is baking it at a low temperature and slowly. Bake at 300°F or 150°C. It will take approximately two to two and a quarter hours in this range. If you notice that it has started turning dark brown at any stage Cover it with aluminum foil or move it to the bottom rack of the oven. But it will remain there for a long time. It needs all those minutes to ensure it is fully ripe. While baking the cake I would like to answer these few questions that came up. Bagger Boldbæknd.com's hot line for baking One of the questions I touched on briefly was whether fruits can be changed. Of course, it can also be done. Sometimes I don't have the appropriate quantities of each Something, and then I'll mix together whatever I have available in my closet. Also, if you wish to add fruit peels Mixed ones are fine since they're available to you—there's absolutely no problem with that. Some people add grated apples Anything you add to the fruit cake will be perfectly suitable. So, what is the shelf life of the cake? A wonderful question Once it has cooled completely, you will wrap it in parchment paper. The tin can—and this is exactly what my mother always used to do. You can keep it in a cabinet at room temperature for several months. He can stay there until Christmas; his flavor will develop and improve. And now there is something we call cake feeding, and I have A post on the website about this matter Every few weeks, you make holes at the top and then pour it in A little bit of whiskey or whatever type of alcohol you're using in the cake It will add an extra flavor, so when Christmas comes around, it will be Your cake is very moist, delicious, and full of flavor, and might even be slightly boozy. A little, but this will truly make it amazing and help it last longer. My mother used to keep a birthday cake in the house for a long time, for example. Reach the year and know that there are many Irish people who perhaps They did the same thing, so as you know, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. My cake took two hours and fifteen minutes. It's complete; it just needs a lot of time. If you want to check whether it has ripened, insert a wooden stick into the center. So you don't have to wait long to enjoy this cake. When completely cooled, it is ready to eat. Fruit cake is a staple on Christmas tables in every home in Ireland. This dark, dense, and moist cake Filled with fruits, sugar, and a small amount of alcohol It wasn't something I always loved as a child. My mother's pastries and the family gathering in Ireland—there's a saying about that. Steal a camel, steal the whole camel; do it through to the end, so when it comes to it On my special birthday cake, I always love spreading a little butter. The rich flavor of muscovado sugar and the warmth of whiskey, before consumption The spices and all those juicy, succulent, sweet fruits will make you Of course you'll eat more like this if you're making a birthday cake. Amazing in just one afternoon No need to wait, no need for nourishment. Unless you wish to do so To obtain this recipe, go to the website. Try baking.com and tell me in the comments Below are the Christmas traditions in your home. Because I want to hear it Thank you very much for watching I'll see you here again very soon. 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