If you can’t wait, simply buy a bottle of plum eau de vie.. So planning is involved but otherwise it’s not very difficult. It is also one of the best Christmas cakes known to man or beast!!
One year in advance:
Collect 20
fresh plums. Wash and discard the stones. Place all the plums in a litre jar and fill with rum and 50g of sugar. Move to a cold dark place and forget about it for a year!
One day before you wish to bake the Christmas cake ( 6 weeks before 24 December):
In a large bowl mix the following ingredients together:
110g glazed cherries
55g whole almonds
50g almond flour
300g sultanas
300g currents
110g raisins
100g cranberries
50g fresh dates
100g candied orange peel
I apple grated
Pour 200ml of the one year old home made plum rum brandy over all the ingredients and mix well. Macerate the fruit overnight or at least 12 hours.
Stage 3 Making the base:
Ingrédients
50ml of plum brandy
290g white flour
230g butter
220 brown sugar
6 eggs
1 teaspoon mixed spice
Method
Preheat oven to 160 degrees C/350d F
In the mixer add the butter and sugar. Whisk the eggs and add to the mix. Mix the spice and flour and add gradually to the mix. Add the fruit to the mix. Place all into a greased cake tin , cover with foil ( with holes) and bake for 3 hours until fully cooked!
Voila: now just pour a small glass of plum eau de vie over the cake once per week and store in a sealed container.
Serve with a Christmas punch, buttermilk ice cream or just on its own with tea or coffee.
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