My Mum’s Christmas Cake

This was my Mum’s Christmas cake recipe that was used every year. She used to make a whole load at a time and give them out to family. This was usually made around the end of October to give it time to mature and absorb the extra brandy but if you’re pushed for time it can be made much nearer to whenever you want to use it.

This does a 22 cm round tin which you need to double line with silicone paper
preheat oven to 130 c – 300 f gas mark 1 – 2
I’ve translated it into american measures for ease. [grams and ounces now added in brackets ]
3 cups   [ 450g 16oz ]  sultanas
1 3/4 cups [ 265g 9 ½ oz ]  raisins
1 3/4 cups [ 300g 12oz ] chopped dates
1 cup  [150g 5 ½ oz ]  currents
2/3 cup[ 50g 2oz ]  mixed peel
1 cup [ 100g 7oz ] glace cherries, halved
1/2 cup [ 100g 7oz ] chopped dried apricots
1/4 cup [ 55g 2oz ]  chopped glace ginger
1/2 cup [ 120ml ]brandy or dark rum
250 g  [ 8oz] butter, softened
1 cup [ 200g 7oz]  firmly packed brown sugar
5 eggs
1 1/2 cups [ 210g 7oz ] plain flour
1/3 cup [46g 1 ½ oz ] self raising flour
1 tsp mixed spice
1 tsp vanilla exctract
zest of an orange and a lemon plus 2 tbsp of juice
extra brandy or rum for soaking

combine the fruit, brandy, zest, juice, spices and vanilla in a large bowl, cover tightly and allow to stand for 24 hours
beat the butter and sugar together until well combined. add the eggs one at a time beating until each one is combined, add this to the fruit mixture.
Sift the flour well and mix in
spread into pan and bake for about 3 1/2 hours.
if the cake looks like burning the cover with a disc of silicone paper

once the cake is cool stab with a skewer and pour over the extra brandy [2-3 tbsps] wrap in silicone paper and foil and keep in a tin
every two to 3 weeks unwrap and add another couple of tbsps of brandy.

Mum didn’t like nuts in cake so replaced them with the apricots.

Beef Cheeks in Red wine

Beef cheeks are a very underrated cut of meat. They’re mostly muscle and therefore tough and need a long slow cooking but it’s really worth it for the flavour. They’re also good for any recipe for pulled beef but you will need to leave them to cook for a long time to get them to fall apart. This is a warming and hearty winter dish.

You can also do these in an Instant Pot which reduces the cooking time considerably.

 

Serves 4

1 kilo of beef cheek. [This should be 2 cheeks]
1/2 bottle of red wine. I used Shiraz for this.
2 onions
1/2 a leek
1 small carrot
2 sticks of celery
2 cloves of garlic
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp ground black pepper or to taste
1/2 tsp ground white pepper or to taste
1 small dried chilli
1 tbsp dried parsley
1 beef stock cube   [I use maggi cubes and as they’re small use 3]
1/4 tsp salt [ adjust this at the end of cooking if needed ]
boiling water to top up
Cornflour and cold water to thicken the sauce.

Cut the beef cheeks in half – you will need a sharp knife to do this.

Chop the onion, leek and celery. Peel the carrot and halve lengthwise and cut into chunks, these will be discarded later.

Put everything into a slow cooker or instant pot and make sure that you top up with boiling water to cover the meat.

This will need to be cooked for at least 5 hours, longer if you want to it to be falling apart. If you are using an Instant Pot then these will need about 40 mins and a natural release.

Check the gravy and adjust the seasoning as required.

Remove the cheeks and place to one side. Remove the carrot chunks.   If you want a smooth gravy then either put in in a blender or push through a sieve, I don’t bother as this is a rustic dish. Thicken the gravy using cornflour. Pour the gravy over and serve with roasted root vegetables. Half a cheek makes a good serving with vegetables. If you prefer you can leave them whole and slice them after cooking, I prefer to cut them in half and serve one piece per person.

If you are using an Instant Pot then these will need about 40 mins and a natural release.

 

Variation

100g of button mushrooms
3 tbsp of pearl barley
1 tbsp of dried pulses soup mix also called broth mix or scotch broth mix – which is a mixture of the following

Pearl Barley,
Yellow Split Peas,
Green Split Peas,
Marrowfat Peas,
Red Split Lentils

 

Serve with mash and glazed carrots.