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Real Foods Vintage Christmas Cake Recipe

This is our Vintage Christmas Cake recipe, that we used to give out to customers in our stores in the late 70s. Many traditional Christmas cake recipes recommend maturing the cake over 2-3 months, and this one is no exception, although the cake is delicious to eat right away as well. But many recipes are made with a whole host of ingredients that modern bakers today can’t use, be it for health or ethical reasons, such as wheat (containing gluten), or dairy. Our vintage Real Foods recipe allows you to cater for a modern world full of food intolerances and ethical choices that weren’t so prevalent even just a decade ago. Don't just follow this recipe ... Be adventurous and creative ... use coconut, chestnut flour, cashews, hazels, pecans, sunflower or sesame seeds, apple rings or peaches or pears ... just remember to keep proportions of dry goods and liquids correct, and do share your favourite variation with us. HAVE A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY HOGMANAY

Customer Rating:
5.0 (1 votes)

Posted by: Ann Smyth
On:

Cuisine

British

Time

> 2 hrs

Skill Level

Confident

Serves

20

Courses etc.

Baking Sweet
Christmas Recipes

You will need

IngredientAdd
9oz wholemeal flour (biscuit or organic pastry flour) More products
8oz vegetable spread

Awaiting stock

 		More products
8oz raw cane muscavado sugar OR More products
6oz malt OR More products
6oz honey OR More products
6oz pear and apple spread More products
5 medium free range eggs

Awaiting stock

 		More products
4oz ground almonds More products
4oz flaked almonds More products
grated rind of an orange More products
1 tbsp molasses More products
1 tsp cinnamon More products
1/4 tsp ground mace More products
1/4 tsp ground ginger More products
1/4 ground nutmeg More products
2 tbsp fruit juice or brandy More products
4oz glace cherries (choose natural ones that contain no dye) - chopped and rolled in flour More products
4oz mixed peel - rolled in flour More products
4oz apricots - chopped finely More products
4oz pitted dates - chopped and rolled in flour More products
4oz crystallized or dried (sugar free) pineapple - chopped More products
1 1/4lb mixed fruit (raisins, currants or sultanas) OR More products
substitute other fruit such as finely chopped figs or dried bananas
Serve with glass of Norfolk Punch or red wine (optional) Available only in our Broughton Street shop More products
4oz crystallized or dried (sugar free) pineapple - chopped More products

Need help converting measurements? View our recipe measurement conversion tables here.

Method

  • Cream margarine with sugar (or other sweetener).
  • Add previously beaten eggs little by little and beat well.
  • Fold in ground almonds.
  • Fold in spices, orange rind, brandy, molasses and flaked almonds.
  • Add flour gradually - do not beat mixture - delicately fold it in.
  • Gradually fold in all fruit - add a little more flour if necessary.
  • Line 8" round cake tin with heavy brown paper, then oiled greaseproof paper.
  • Put mixture in tin and level top, making a slight dip towards centre.
  • If not icing, make a design on top with nuts. (After baking this can be glazed with a mixture of honey or apple juice and arrowroot or tahini, simmered until it starts to thicken.)
  • Bake in a pre-heated oven, Gas Mark 2 for 3 1/2 to 4 hours.
  • VARIATIONS ON RECIPE FOR STANDARD CAKE:
  • For A Smaller Cake:  use half ingredients and 6" round tin and bake at Gas Mark 2 for 1 1/5 to 2 hours.
  • For A Larger Cake: use half as much again and 10" round or 9" square tin and bake at Gas Mark 1 for 4 to 5 hours. Cover top with heavy brown paper for some of the time to prevent burning.
  • For a Gluten Free Cake - use a shop-bought or homemade combination of rice flour, potato flour or soya flour instead of wheat flour. (Roll sticky fruits in this too.)
  • For A Sugar Free Cake:  instead of sugar use 6oz malt extract or pear and apple spread and miss out cherries, peel, sugared pineapple and ginger. Substitute more naturally sweet fruit like dried bananas, mango or dates.
  • For A Cheaper Cake: substitute flaked peanuts and ground peanuts for almonds, more raisins, sultanas and dates for apricots, ginger and pineapple, and fruit juice for brandy.
  • For A Very Moist Cake: every two weeks prick top of cake with a large darning needle and pour over 3 tbsp brandy. Keep in airtight tin.
  • Marzipan: should be put on 48 hours before royal icing.  Choose natural or raw cane marzipan (without colouring).

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Picture of Dark Raw Cane Muscovado Sugar
Dark Raw Cane Muscovado Sugar
Real Foods
Picture of Malt Extract
Malt Extract
Rayner's (340g)
£3.75
Picture of Pear & Apple Fruit Spread
Pear & Apple Fruit Spread
Suma (300g)
£2.99
Picture of Blanched Fine Ground Almonds
Blanched Fine Ground Almonds
Real Foods
Picture of Flaked Almonds
Flaked Almonds
Real Foods
Picture of Orange ORGANIC
Orange ORGANIC
Real Foods (each)
£0.70
Picture of Molasses Black Strap
Molasses Black Strap
Rayner's (340g)
£3.15
Picture of Ground Cinnamon
Ground Cinnamon
Real Foods
Picture of Whole Mace Blades
Whole Mace Blades
Real Foods
Picture of Ground Ginger
Ground Ginger
Real Foods
Picture of Ground Nutmegs
Ground Nutmegs
Real Foods
Picture of Mixed Peel Orange & Lemon
Mixed Peel Orange & Lemon
Real Foods
Picture of Sweet Jumbo Apricot Turkey
Sweet Jumbo Apricot Turkey
Real Foods
Picture of Pitted Dates Free Flow
Pitted Dates Free Flow
Real Foods
Picture of Mixed Vine Fruit Raisin,Sultana & Currants No Peel
Mixed Vine Fruit Raisin,Sultana & Currants No..
Real Foods
Picture of Zambian Clear Forest Honey ORGANIC
Zambian Clear Forest Honey ORGANIC
Wainwright's (380g)
£5.00
Picture of Red Glace Cherries Natural Colour Whole
Red Glace Cherries Natural Colour Whole
Real Foods
Picture of Diced Pineapple with SO2 added sugar
Diced Pineapple with SO2 added sugar
Real Foods
Picture of Fine Plain Wholemeal Flour ORGANIC
Fine Plain Wholemeal Flour ORGANIC
Doves Farm (1Kg)
Now: £1.66
Was: £1.95