CHRISTMAS

Christmas is an important celebration for Christian people to celebrate the birth of Jesus.
Christmas is a season of giving, of parties, reaching out to others and families get together.   It is a good time, a festive season.  

I love the idea of Christmas party with the family, spending a day with the whole family and having a grand feast and sharing gifts.  We all make a fuss about it, food is prepared months before the Christmas dinner,  the Big Day.  People prepare the Christmas cake, shortbread biscuits and the Christmas pudding a long time before.   Of course every family would celebrate Christmas differently, they would have different kinds of feasting.  Families are happy enough to have a practical celebration, but some would do the traditional Christmas feasts, hot foods are served: glace baked ham, roast turkey and the trimmings, Christmas pudding and Christmas cake are on their menu.

In the past I cooked a roast turkey with the trimmings every year, fresh berries and occasionally also the famous English trifle,  and Christmas cake was always at table.  We loved that occasion, our adapted tradition since the seventies. 

Started last year,  Christmas was no longer at our home, instead we went to our first daughter’s home, and it was good, in fact even better than Christmas with us.  This year our third daughter Susan and her partner Tris will host the Christmas dinner, and I am looking forward to it.

Christmas Gifts

Exchange gifts are a part of Christmas tradition, and we do it too.  However we do it simply.  We could buy the gifts, but I do like to make gifts, because I could give my best.  Since I love cooking, my gift is my baking, can be biscuits, brioches, and  herbs flavour oil etc.

This year my Christmas gifts are mini Christmas Cakes.  It is beautiful fruit cake, needs a good preparation, it takes about three hours to bake but it can keep for months.  It does involve a little work, but it is worth it.

Every year I do different gifts and also I don't give presents to the same friends, because I like to surprise people.

The preparation

Line the tins with baking papers 

The Mixed Fruits

Add brandy and sherry on the mixed fruits and leave it overnight.

Mix the fruit mixture to the sugar,butter and egg mixture.

Stir and mix them together thoroughly, use your hands or spatula.

(Make sure to have an apron on, it is good to have a new one, thanks Susan.)

Scoop the fruit mixture cake onto the prepared lined baking tins.

Bake at 135 degrees C for three hours.  Then take them out from the oven.

While the cakes are hot, add and brush them with brandy, put the foil 

and napkins/ tea towels on top of the cakes,  to trap the steam, and leave it

until totally cold, about 12 hours. Take the cake out of the tins and wrap individually with extra foil.

After wrapping individually in foil, wrap it again with the cloth, they will keep

for a few months until they are ready to decorate.

The cake are wrapped up and keep for months

Decorations
I love the glace fruits and nuts to decorate, so these are what I need: red and green cherries glace, orange glace fruit, almond, walnut, pecan and Brazil nuts.  Some apricot jam and brandy.
Ribbons and cellophane paper to wrap and the name tags.

To be continued.

Until next post, I will be decorating these cakes.  Stay Tuned

Thanks For Visiting

Susy