Forgive me for jumping the gun, but it’s the beginning of October, and it's never too early to make your Christmas cake. Stir-up Sunday may not be until 24th November, but as far as I’m concerned that’s for the pudding and mincemeat. Your cake will be all the better for being made early, in unhurried conditions, with time to mature, and generously fed with brandy once a week until – when its glorious time arrives – it will sing like a heavenly choir.
I have two recipes to share with you. The first is possibly the best Christmas cake recipe of all time (with apologies to Delia) and it was created by my friend of many years, and BBC Good Food’s famous food director, Mary Cadogan. You’ll find it here: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/simmer-stir-christmas-cake. (If you need further convincing, check out the ratings on the recipe, and the scores of comments by happy readers.) I am planning to transport this cake to London, so instead of the classic marzipan and royal icing, Mary suggested adding the Florentine-style topping from this recipe, by another Good Food star of yesteryear, Sara Buenfeld: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/festive-fruit-nut-cake.
The second recipe is one of my own, also published in Good Food many years ago, which is an adaptation of one my mother used to make. What makes it special is the gorgeous mixture of crystallized fruit included in the mix (plus stem ginger) which gives it a very sophisticated, grown up flavour. If someone in the family complains fruit cake is a bit stodgy, this will change their minds: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/orlando-murrins-deluxe-christmas-cake.
For this cake, I’m going to add a layer of marzipan and arrange crystallized fruits on top, glazed with sieved apricot jam. Despite scouring my local area for crystallized fruit, I’ve had no success, though by the time of writing they should be back in stock at www.buywholefoodsonline.co.uk, and I shall snap as many up as I can, including candied pineapple, orange, lemon, apricots and (dyed) green cherries.
The cake in the picture, by the way, is from a few years ago. I’m no expert cake decorator but I was pleased with the cat.
Finally, I would like to leave you with a book recommendation. Jane Lovett has a devoted following among cooking cognoscenti, and 3 October sees the launch of The Get-Ahead Christmas Cook (Headline, £28). It’s a classic of the future, with everything you could possibly need for the season ahead.
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