Christmas baking for 2018

[Logan]

Hi i always start my christmas cake now. Does anybody else do.
I've had this tin since i was 11years old,when i started cooking at school.

I' lined it 6 times with greeseproof paper brushing it with melted marg every time.

Then wrapped a lot of news paper around to stop the sides from browning too much

I always make it higher than the tin.

Here it is baked,it took 6 hours to bake

 

[Becky]

Cor, that's one good looking cake

I enjoy fruitcake but Ian's not a massive fan, so I tend to do a lighter one. I'll do it a month or so before Christmas so I can feed it, but never too far in advance I'm afraid.

Do you feed yours through the year or just let it mature?

 

[Logan]

Thanks @Becky yes i feed it with sherry, also i soaked the fruit 2 weeks before. Hubby likes a lot of glac'e cherries,i've put in 1.lb of them.

 

[marlingardener]

I don't start my Christmas baking yet, but I do have a list of ingredients I need. I carry the list with me each time I shop, and if something is on sale I get it and stash it. Just after Christmas I get two large bags of cranberries on sale and freeze them--cranberry nut bread. When pecans are plentiful in October, I get them in the shell from a local orchard and spend a few evenings picking them out.
I guess the fun of Christmas baking is a year 'round pleasure (rather like Logan's cake!).

 

[Silentrunning]

I am one of the few who actually love fruit cake. Unfortunately baking isn't one of my talents so I rely on a local bakery for my cake. It sure doesn't look as good as yours Logan.

 

[Becky]

On the subject of Christmas baking... I have a family member who bakes her Christmas puddings over a year in advance, but they are never very good unfortunately. She cooks them for a very long time, and they are black. One Christmas, when my brother and I were kids, she came for Christmas and brought a pudding... My brother was the first to take a bite, and in the way that only a child can, he proceeded to wince and shudder because it was so bitter! Still makes me chuckle to think about it

 

[alp]

Christmas?! Corr! You've got to be serious! I haven't shifted the "handles" acquired during Christmas!

 

[Logan]

Thanks @marlingardener that cranberry nut bread sounds great. Hubby doesn't eat a lot of nuts any more, he's teeth are not very good. But he can manage chopped mixed nuts that i put in the cake.

Thanks @Silentrunning shop bought cakes are very good, I just like making my own and the puddings,but they are expensive.

Yes @alp i start christmas now.

 

[Logan]

Just made my first mince pies 48 all together.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

will be baking this weekend. gather my ingredients. first will make my Apple Cranberry Walnut bread, 6 of them. they are for gifts. then maybe a cookie. not sure which one. was looking at a shortbread type.

 

[DirtMechanic]

This may be the greatest thread I have ever read. Now I feel starved!

 

[Esther Knapicius]

after so many years of baking, I find that a new process of a baked product is interesting. Have been looking at this recipe to make. https://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Hungarian-Shortbread

 

[DirtMechanic]

I feel heavier already. Here is a cream biscuit recipe Becky has been making that goes with anything.

https://addapinch.com/two-ingredient-cream-biscuit-recipe/

 

[Esther Knapicius]

finished a few Netflix Christmas baking shows. interesting stuff.

 

[Becky]

Those mince pies look great @Logan! I actually made my Christmas cake in advance this year so that we could start enjoying it in December. I baked it in September, and fed it with whisky and Cointreau. It's yummy