“It´s that time of the year again,” says Sharon. “Time to make the Christmas cake. If you make it now there will be plenty of time for it to mature and become more delicious when you tuck into it at Christmas.
“My favourite recipe comes from my old friend, Dorrie, with whom I have sadly lost touch with over the past few years. Dorrie used to live in the Camp but moved to Los Alcázares on the shores of the Mar Menor. She is from England originally and must now be nearly 90.
This is Dorrie´s recipe that has been handed down from her great-grandmother. A bit of calculation suggests that the recipe dates back to the middle of the 19th century, so it is really authentic.
That´s about the time that Christmas, as we know it today, arrived in the United Kingdom. Charles Dickens´ story “A Christmas Carol” was massively popular. The young Queen Victoria married the German Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg in 1840 and it is thought that he introduced the Christmas Tree. Santa Claus is Germany´s patron saint of Children. However, the fat, happy chap that we know today as Father Christmas, with his white beard and red suit, made his first appearance as a Coca Cola advert. The first Christmas commercial Christmas card was printed in 1846 but cards didn´t really catch on until the 1870s. Dorrie´s great grandmother started making this cake when she was married.
The cake is easy to make so get cracking now.
Ingredients.
One and a half ounces of chopped almonds
Three ounces of ground almonds
Six ounces of plain flour and a pinch of salt
One teaspoon of mixed spice
Six ounces of butter
Six ounces of Brown sugar, Barbados is best
Five large eggs
One tablespoon of treacle
Nine ounces of Currants
Six ounces of sultanas
Six ounces of raisins
Three ounces of chopped mixed dried peel
Four ounces of glace cherries, or cherries in syrup
Two ounces of glace pineapple, chopped. If this cannot be found substitute more cherries.
One ounce of angelica (can be omitted)
Grated rind and juice of a large lemon
Juice of an orange
One tablespoon of brandy
One large apple, peeled, cored and finely grated.
One large carrot, finely grated
Mix everything together and cook in your oven, pre-heated to 100C, for more than four hours. When it is cool, wrap tightly in tinfoil and store in a cool place until Christmas so that the flavours can really develop.
“I love this cake. It is always so moist and the fruit is always nice and juicy,” says Sharon. “And it makes you feel as if it is Christmas, so it helps you to get into the festive spirit.”
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©Phillip Bruce 2009.
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