heres a photo of the small christmas cake I made, it is generously laced with scotch, so is very yummy!!!
CHRISTMAS cake made with Australian pecans. Its called the
Jewelled Christmas Cake.
3 cups Pecan nut pieces;
1 1/2 cups shredded coconut (the longer thin stuff);
250 grams glace chopped pineapple;
250 grams sultanas (you call them blonde raisins here );
250 grams red glace cherries;
125 gram green glace cherries;
125 grams mixed orange peel, chopped;
185 gr butter softened;
1 1/4 cups castor sugar;
3 eggs;
1/2 cup whisky/scotch;
1 1/2 cups All Purpose flour;
1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda;
1/4 teas. ground nutmeg;
1/3 cup buttermilk or yoghurt, I always use yoghurt greek style.
Combine the pecan nuts, coconut, fruits and peel in a large bowl.
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add eggs one at a time, beating well between each addition. Sift together the flour, soda and nutmeg and fold into the creamed mixture, alternating with combined buttermilk and whisky/scotch.
Add the nut and fruit mixture, combining ingredients well.
Place mixture in a greased and lined 23 cm cake pan.
Bake in a moderately slow (385) oven for 1 hour. Reduce temperature to slow (350)and bake for approximately another 2 1/2 hours or until cooked when tested.
Note .. if cake top is browning too quickly, cover loosely with a sheet of foil or brown paper.
Remove from oven and allow the cake to cool in the pan, then decorate as desired.
I also, when it has just come out of the oven and is still hot put a good lashing of scotch on top and allow it to cool then when it is cold, another splash then wrap it in alfoil for storage, as it is late for cooking Christmas cakes the scotch helps to moisten the cake so it cuts well.
If you don't like alcohol, orange juice is a good substitute, for mixture and also for splashing the cake.
Sorry guys, turning the thread into a cooking segment!!!!!