A CAKE FOR CHRISTMAS A NEWCOMER TO TRADITIONAL FOOD

Te Ao Hou, December 1961, Page 63

A CAKE FOR CHRISTMAS A NEWCOMER TO TRADITIONAL FOOD An iced cake seems an integral part of the food prepared for Christmas. Foods pictured as belonging to the traditional British Christmas are usually turkey, with attendant stuffings, plum pudding regally ablaze, and crowned with holly, mince pies and a large decorative iced fruit cake. Strangely enough, although there is tradition relating to much of this type of food, the Christmas cake is a relative newcomer; it appears to owe its existence to the need at holiday time for a cake that keeps well, cuts well, and fits in with the general pattern of rich foods. Christmas cake probably came into being as the necessary standby for the housewife harassed by unexpected holiday visitors, and is a cake equally suitable to serve with a glass of wine or a cup of tea. RECIPE FOR A CAKE This cake is best made a few weeks before it is needed, but is sufficiently versatile to eat well after only a few days to mature. Cream 9 ozs butter with 8 ozs sugar (4 ozs white and 4 ozs brown); beat 5–6 eggs, depending on size. Combine as boiling water starch and cool ½ oz cornflour, ¼ pint (5 ozs) water. Grate the rind and squeeze the juice from 1 lemon, 1 small orange. Prepare in the usual way, clean, dry and cut up. 3 lbs cake fruit, e.g. 1 lb sultanas, 1 lb currants, ½ lb raisins, ¼ lb peel, ¼ lb glace cherries. Sift together 12 ozs flour, 1 teaspoon mixed spice, 1 teaspoon cocoa, pinch salt. Chop up (blanch if necessary) ¼ lb walnuts or almonds. Beat the eggs gradually into the butter sugar mixture, then fold in the flour mixture. Stir in the starch paste, fruit juices and rind and a few drops of almond essence (if almonds are omitted). Last of all add fruit and nuts. Bake this mixture in a 10–12 in. tin lined with brown paper and greaseproof paper for five hours. The oven temperature should be 300 deg. F. reduced to 250 deg. F. after the first hour. The addition of brandy or rum to the cake improves the flavour and keeping qualities. The best way to add spirits is to prick the cake with a fine steel knitting needle after it is cooked and cooled, and pour the spirits over: two or three tablespoonsful are sufficient for the averaged size cake. Adding brandy or rum to the cake mixture before baking is not economic; alcohol is volatile and so lost during cooking. FINISHING THE CAKE Almond paste and royal icing is the accepted finish for a rich fruit cake, although recently plastic icing has become very popular. Plastic icing has the advantage that it can be put straight on to the cake, whereas when royal icing is used the cake must have a coating of almond paste to prevent crumbs from the outside of the cake lifting and getting into the icing. Nothing can take the place of almond paste made with ground almonds with regard to texture or flavour, but there are a number of substitute almond pastes that are less expensive to make. An almond flavoured plastic icing can be used, or a substitute paste made from soya bean flour, cake crumbs or even semolina! The almond paste must be attached to the cake; the usual way to do this is to brush the outside of the cake with warmed sieved apricot jam or marmalade, or with egg white; plastic icing also needs sticking to the cake and egg white is used for this. ALMOND PASTE Mix together ½ lb ground almonds, ½ lb icing or caster sugar (or ½ lb of each, i.e. 1 lb sugar for a sweeter and more economical paste). Work to a firm dough with 1 teaspoon vanilla essence, 1 teaspoon almond essence, juice of ½ lemon, 1–2 eggs or 3 egg yolks. Knead well. Roll out using icing sugar to prevent the paste sticking. PLASTIC ICING Sift 1 lb icing sugar into warmed basin; mix to a firm dough with 1 egg white, 4 ozs warmed liquid glucose. Knead icing well; it helps if the basin is kept standing in warm water. This type of icing is rolled out using sifted icing sugar to prevent it sticking. Cornflour on the hands makes handling the icing easier. This icing is rolled and cut to the shape of the cake on the board, the pieces are then lifted and pressed into position, as with almond paste. ROYAL ICING This is the nicest of icings when well made. Many criticise that it hardens too much, but this

can be overcome by adding a little glycerine. To ensure that white icing is really white, blue is added (ordinary household blue) to counteract the natural colour of the egg whites which make the icing a creamy colour. The quantity of blue added must be carefully gauged, too much will give the icing a greyish tinge. Beat until frothy 3 egg whites, 4 ozs sifted icing sugar, add 3 teaspoonsful lemon juice, 1 teaspoonful glycerine (optional), gradually beat in 1 ½–1 ½ lbs sifted icing sugar, add few drops of blue from a blue bag. Royal icing can be made in an electric cake mixer: the egg whites should be beaten with a little of the sugar until frothy, the remaining sugar is then added gradually, with the mixer set at slow speed. The last addition of sugar may have to be beaten in by hand, a wooden spoon should always be used for hand beating. Royal icing should have a consistency that can be drawn up into peaks. These peaks should curl over if the icing is to be used for coating the cake, but remain in peaks if the icing is for decorative or snow effects. Before use the icing must be kept closely covered with a wet cloth, and not left exposed to the air, this prevents a crust forming. Metal spoons and spatulas must not be left in the icing, nor should icing be left in contact with metal pipes, the acid in the icing causes metal to discolour the icing. The icing is first spread roughly on the cake. A snow effect can be formed by lifting the surface with the flat side of a knife, which causes the icing to stand up in small peaks, or the surface can be smoothed out with a knife or spatula that has been heated in hot water. The icing must not be made wet to smooth it out, and a few bold strokes give a better finish than dabbing at the cake. Bubbles some times form and these should be pricked with a fine needle while the icing is wet. The icing must be allowed to dry for 24 hours before decorative icing effects are added. A turntable is a great help when icing or decorating a cake; an improvised turntable can be made from a board on a circular piano stool, or with an enamel bowl inverted over an upturned basin. (Home Science Extension, Department of Adult Education, University of Otago) ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ Pendennis Hostel for Maori Girls in Wellington has been taken over by the Wellington City Mission. It was previously administered by the Maori Trustee. The new matron, Mrs Manaki Whaanga, with her husband as warden, will live at the hostel. Mrs Gloria Te Amu Beazley, matron of Pendennis for nine years, was given a fine send-off, attended by the Minister of Maori Affairs, the Hon. Mr J. R. Hanan and many other prominent people.