A Christmas to remember
August 30th, 2005 at 10:08 pm by jamesIt is traditional, on one’s wedding day, to save a tier of the cake (if said cake comes with tiers) to cut at the christening of your first-born. Ours had no chance. I think it might have lasted as long as 3 months after the wedding, perhaps six. That cake was good. No, I mean goooood. Every Christmas my little heart beats faster as the prospect of rich fruit cake looms closer, and every Christmas I’m comparatively disappointed. Last Christmas we had a pudding which came close. OK, yes, we had four of them. They came really rather close … but they were not to be confused with the real thing.
Today my Aunt Barbi who produced the initial version, the alpha particle, the very first astoundingly good exemplar, sent me the recipe. May-the-good-Lord-pour-out-more-blessing-on-her-and-her-livestock-than-she-can-easily-deal-with (which is quite a lot, I suspect). Now there’s no way I’m publishing the recipe here (no begging please), but I thought you’d like to know that I’m in the market for about 20 pounds of assorted fruit and nuts, a couple of litres of good liquor and a fair old whack of all the other cake-type ingredients you’d expect. If I get my act together it’ll be a Christmas to remember. Chances are this takes some practice, so perhaps Christmas 2009 will be a Christmas to remember.
In the gallery today: Josie decorates her little sister with glitter stickers; helps build shelves by holding the nail for dad; tests out her new bookshelf; Sophie models the hoodie look.
August 31st, 2005 at 9:42 am
Had to smile at the pic of Sophie in her glitter-sticker finery. I wonder what we’re in for…
Will you share the recipe with us in Dec 09? Or never-ever-in-a-million-years. My G loves fruit cake, but I’m a bit snoep (with time, money & liquor) to make it. Perhaps I need to change my ways.
August 31st, 2005 at 12:48 pm
(james stubbornly refuses to be drawn – even by the picture of G’s pining)
August 31st, 2005 at 2:35 pm
Always knew Aunt Barbie was good for something. What if you send us a piece through the mail when Xmas time comes round.
August 31st, 2005 at 8:15 pm
let me warn anyone who might b tempted to desire this cake, that most of the ingredients are weighted in kgs – where does one get 1kg of glace cherries??? – this cake would cost a bomb and take the strength of 3 sumo wrestlers to mix if you had a bath big enough to mix it in!! we will take barbis advice and mix a quater if we decide we need the challenge this christmas season.
September 2nd, 2005 at 6:04 pm
Sophie covered with glitter stickers is my favourite of all time.
Yes, Barbi is a ledgendary baker of great renown – not only Christmas cakes, but Black Forest cakes to die for, be wonderful if the skill has been passed on to Jamie.