 |
| |
Does anyone know where to buy ingredients for making a traditional English
Christmas cake, the kind where the cake is covered in a layer of marzipan,
and then a layer of rolled white icing? Specifically, I'd like to buy the
ready-to-roll icing. (Yeah, I know you can make this at home, but I'm
lazy!) Here in the Houston, Texas area I've already checked Fiesta and
Rice Epicurean markets to no avail. Done a few searches on the 'Web, but
no success yet. This stuff is ubiquitous in England, but can't seem to
find it anywhere here. If anyone knows where this may be obtained, could
you please |
| |
 |
| |
-Yes, ready to roll icing can be bought from most supermarkets here, it's
quite cheap and can be coloured and flavoured if you want. I don't like it
as much as traditional royal icing, it's a bit rubbery and gluey in texture
but of course much easier to put on the cake.
If or when you find some, the secrets are to roll it out thick ( to a Slim
half inch ) to the diameter of the top of the cake plus the height of the
sides. Paint the marzipanned cake with your favourite spirit and drape the
icing on to it. smooth it down well with your hand and then trim off the
edges at the cake base. Do not use corn flour to roll out the icing
or to "polish " it as you can get very nasty food poisoning from the
uncooked flour (bacillus cereus). Use icing (confectioners) sugar.
If possible try to get natural coloured marzipan not the yellow stuff
as the colour can leach out of it and stain the icing. Paint the cake with
boiled sieved apricot jam before coating it with marzipan.
My Christmas cake, which I meant to make last Thursday but didn't
follows. It will make 1x9 inch round or 2x7 inch rounds. It is expensive
to make but does seem to last to Easter-ish.
Christmas Cake ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
12 oz butter
12 oz soft brown sugar
6 eggs
1 lb plain (all purpose) flour .25 teaspoon salt .50 teaspoon mixed spice
1 lb currants
1 lb sultanas .25 lb raisins
6 oz mixed candied peel
2 oz glace cherries
4 oz ground almonds
2 tablespoons black treacle
2 fluid ounces of brandy or rum or sherry
Cream butter and sugar. Add beaten eggs and flour alternately. Add the rest
of the flour, salt, and spices. Mix in the dried fruits, peels and nuts.
stir in treacle and the booze.
Put the mix in a baking parchment lined tin. Tie a folded-into-a-long-strip
newspaper around the tin with string (insulation for slower cooking of the
edges). Place the tin on another folded wad of newspaper. make a slight
hollow in the centre of the cake with a spoon.
Bake the cake in a slow oven; 120 degrees C 250 degrees F, Gas regulo 1-2
for 6 hours (it may take more) or until the clean tooth pick thing
happens. Protect the cake top with a piece of paper if it's getting too
brown.
Half the recipe take about 3-4 hours to bake.
If you like cheese and can get hold of any eat it with Wensleydale cheese. -If youre looking for the ready to roll fondant, check your local craft store
that sells cake decorating equpiment, sometimes you can find it at walmart,
again in the cake section (hiding back in the craft & sewing area), or check
your yp for a cake decorating supply store, they will definitely have it. I
hate to say, but did you ask someone at fiesta? most people dont know what
marzipan is. -large supermarkets here. The white, ready-to-roll icing is the ONLY thing
that I can't seem to find. Managers and buyers at both Fiesta and Rice
Epicurean have absolutely no idea what ready-to-roll white icing is,
although at Fiesta they did let me peruse their computer print out of ALL
of the items they stock. Basically, if they're not stocking it already
then they have NO interest in ordering it. Oh! And forget
Randall's--they're worthless--they've given over complete control of their
shelf space to their suppliers and it's now just a big duke-it-out between
the few biggest brand names |
| |
 |
|
| |
| |
