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The holiday season makes many of us think about some very special traditions which truly make Christmas something to remember. Among them is a colourful ritual, the festive mixing of cake that heralds the start of holiday baking and fills the kitchen with warm, welcoming aromas. It is more than just one of the steps in the recipe, rather, it's about an occasion and a time when friends gather with family to make the rich, flavour fruit cake that embodies the spirit of the season. With mixed dried fruits, nuts, and warming spices, Christmas cake mixing is the first step to a scrumptious dessert that matures over time as the days build up to Christmas. Are you considering baking your fruitcake for this holiday season? Read everything you need to know to get started with this age-old tradition, older than Christmas itself.
What You Need to Know About Christmas Cake Mixing
The Tradition Behind Cake Mixing
Christmas cake mixing has been a long-standing ritual before Christmas, which most people celebrate with friends and families. Traditionally made weeks, even months in advance of Christmas, this process allows the fruit and nuts to soak in a drink and spices, which will be infused into the cake. Leaving the batter to stand for a while will also provide the cake with enough time to mature, giving a stronger, deeper taste and a moist texture. Many families turn the process of cake making into a joyous event, coaxing everyone to spend the afternoon together in an atmosphere of play and good humour.
Selecting the right Ingredients
The foundation of a Christmas fruitcake is a mixture of dried fruit. Raisins, currants, sultanas, dried apricots, and cherries are the most common. Others also include citrus peel or candied ginger for added zip. Nuts like almonds, walnuts, and pecans add texture and richness, while spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves lend warmth. Quality ingredients are pretty important because they're going to make up the bulk of the cake's flavour. Make sure that all your dried fruits and nuts are fresh, high-quality items, or you'll end up with a disappointing cake, stale ingredients really can impact the taste and texture of the finished dessert.
The Importance of Soaking the Fruits
Soaking fruits is of great importance when mixing cakes due to the simple reason of absorbing the dried fruits with flavours and to keep them moist. Fruits are soaked generally in a mixture of rum, brandy, or wine for a number of days or even weeks before mixing. This does not only flavour but also softens the fruits, that makes them all the more tender in the final cake. To make it a non-alcoholic cake, you can soak fruits in freshly squeezed orange juice, apple juice, or tea. The longer you soak the fruits, the stronger the flavours will be. Planning ahead always results in a better cake.
Preparation of Cake Batter
This classic Christmas cake has batter that's rich, dense, and meant to hold the weight of the fruit and nuts. Begin with the classic butter and sugar creaming for all the elements to sit pretty on top of this stable groundwork. The eggs are beaten one after another in a homogenous mixture, followed by very lightly folding flour with spices, then the soaked fruits and nuts. The batter is best mixed by hand or with a spatula so as not to overwork the batter, which may make the cake a bit too tight and tough.
Baking and Storing the Cake
Christmas fruitcakes are typically baked slowly and at a low heat in order to cook evenly with moisture. In order to make cleanup easier, it is better to line and grease a cake tin well because fruitcakes can be quite sticky and dense. Bake and cool; then carefully wrap the cake in parchment paper and keep it in an airtight container. Many bakers feed the cake every week with a little alcohol, which keeps it moist and enhances the flavours over time. The best results are obtained by starting this process a month or more prior to Christmas.
Personalising Your Christmas Cake
Tradition is fun, but nobody stops you from personalising your cake with flavours your family loves. Some add a little cocoa powder for that chocolatey taste, or sometimes even some espresso powder for more depth. You can try spicing it up or using orange and lemon zest to give it that tangy freshness to it. It's more special since you have personalised your Christmas cake with unique touches.
