Cyder with Eloise

I have not forgotton about the christmas cake, just marinating the fruit. Two weeks should have done it! If you missed the first part of this post you can see it here.
On to the next stage:

Ingredients:
250g Plain Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
250g Demerara Sugar
250g Softened Butter
4 Beaten Eggs

Method:
Mix together the Flour, Baking Powder, Sugar and Butter into a smooth batter. Beat in the Eggs one at a time until well blended.
Gradually fold in the marinated fruit, ensure all the fruit is well incorporated for even distribution in the mixture.
Preheat the oven to gas mark 1 and prepare the cake tin. Double line the tin with baking paper and grease well.
Pour the mixture into the prepared cake tins, keeping a level surface.
Bake in the oven at gas mark 1 for 2 1/2 hours, then cover the cake with baking paper to prevent the it browning too much and continue to bake for 1 1/2 hours. Turn the oven off and leave in the warm oven until cool.
Once cool you can remove from the oven and remove the baking paper before wrapping in tin foil to store for up to 1 year.

To finish off the cake see back here in a week or two when I’ll be decorating it.

Notes on using the Silverwood Cake Pan.
This recipe has made 5 cakes approx 4.5″ x 4.5″ using the Silverwood Multi Size Cake Pan.

Updated 22-11-09: I have doubled this recipe to make 9 cakes, now all I need is a bigger mixing bowl. Increased the cooking time to allow for the extra mixture:
Bake in the oven at gas mark 1 for 3 hours, then cover the cake with baking paper to prevent the it browning too much and continue to bake for 2 hours. Turn the oven off and leave in the warm oven until cool.

Updated 28/11/09: Check out the next stage here.

This cake is full to the brim with rich fruit, nuts, spices and alcohol. The longer you leave it to mature, the better!
We still have some of last years cake left. If well marinated and stored correctly it will keep very well.
Don’t skimp on the alcohol, I tend to add an additional slug of port and rum as I go along, but that means it requires more cooking time. If you stick to the guidelines below this time, you can modify it to your taste next time around.

This recipe fills a 9 inch cake tin, however this year I am making 5 smaller cakes for hampers, using a Silverwood Multi Size Cake Pan.

Ingredients:
450g Raisins
225g Currents
150g Candied Fruit Peel
150g Walnuts
150g Sultanas
150g Prunes
125g Dark Brown Muscovado Sugar
2tsp Vanilla Extract
1tsp Cinnamon
1tsp Salt
1/2tsp Nutmeg – Grated
1/2tsp Cloves – Ground
1/2tsp All Spice – Ground
5tbsp Dark Rum
5tbsp Brandy
5tbsp Whisky
5tbsp Port

Method:
Put all the ingredients into a large stock pot and mix well with a wooden spoon. Heat gently and simmer for 15 minutes. Do not let it boil as you need to retain the alcohol. Leave to cool and pour into a jar for storage for at least a week, stirring the mixture daily.

I’ll see you next week when I’ll post the next instalment… You can’t rush perfection!!

Updated 9/11/09: Check out the next stage here.