I blame it on Alice. I'm sure it was her talk of Christmas baking that had me daydreaming of a dark, damp, drunken fruit cake.
I've never baked a Christmas cake before. I'm not entirely sure why, but I think the reasons may have been work, work and too much bloody work, followed a few years later by two small children and even more work. Christmas cakes are quite labour-intensive. And frankly, when my kids were younger, given a choice of:
1) bake for 3 hours , or
2) read a little then go to bed early....well, the reading/sleeping option was always going to win out.
This weekend, though, I had energy to burn. I was riding high on a post-sick-kid wave of euphoria (no vomit! what a glorious day!). I followed my recipe, which was called 'The Perfect Fruit Cake'. I dutifully chopped, boiled, beat, stirred, sifted, combined. And LO unto my stove top a Christmas cake was born. And it was good.
I hate to blow my own trumpet, but someone has to toot my horn. This cake is seriously delicious. I could polish off the entire cake in a matter of days. Today I've eaten a piece after lunch and a piece at dinnertime. I may have to hide the cake from myself.
Of course, it's not really Christmas cake, it's November cake. Because truthfully, the only trace left by Christmas will be the scatter of crumbs beneath this table.
(hic!)
18 comments:
I LOVE fruit cake! No one that I know, no one in my family or friends likes it. I am forced to eat the whole thing by myself! I love the Claxton brand (store bought) and I have never had it homemade, yours looks so good!
All you do plus bake! Your list of talents amazes me! Doctor, black belt, writer, baker... on top of all your normal daily stuff like supermom, loving wife, etc...
I have to admit fruitcake is not my favorite, but that one looks moist and delicious! I tried to bake one once and it was as hard as a brick!
I WAS going to ask if Queensland celebrated Christmas at a different time to the rest of the Christian world since your cake is already disappearing fast? But then you confessed to not being able to wait for a few more weeks. Your punishment? You'll just have to make another.
I'm sure the family won't mind either, as that one looks so delicious.
OOh, I can smell the baking...mouth watering...I am a recent fan of fruitcake with vanilla icecream. So good!
Sorry, Jelly, but you lost me on the Christmas cake thing.
My mom makes it every year, and every year I don't eat dessert.
It just looks a bit like what you find in a diaper for my taste...
Sorry if that's a tad graphic. I hope you enjoyed yours...
That cake looks so Good! I'd brew some black coffee and eat the whole thing in one sitting.
Yummmy - I love Christmas cake. I baked the family ones with my mum a couple of weeks ago, and we'll keep pouring brandy over them until Christmas. I don't know any other way to keep them that moist :) All that, plus the drunken fruit we put in. I'm not driving at Christmas!!
That looks seriously yummy! Good for you Jellyfish (sorry, that's what Ross calls you :) You're a better woman than me. Rather than bake my own I think I'd like to pop over and share a piece of yours. Any chance of saving me a piece? I see, probably not. Well, I'll just dine on the happy memories of fruit cakes past :)
Do save some for Fatty and kids please Miss Piggy!
I love making something sooooo good that i look for excuses to eat it!!! It looks great!!!
Would you believe I've never tasted fruitcake? But yours looks delicious!
Happy fruit cake to you! Don't eat it all in one sitting or you will have to exercise more to get rid of all those calories.
Looks delicious and I think I will have to use Alice's recipe and make one of those for Christmas. Will be thinking of you and your family as we sit down to eat our Thanksgiving dinner.
xxooxx L.
Jellyfish??? Miss Piggy???
*LOL* I just can't help but laugh at Kerri's comment...she is so funny.
I tried making a fruit cake once but it wasn't finished for 30 days...the recipe said to keep pouring Brandy on it every so often...It was good, what I can remember of it.
I think I'll try a quicker fruit cake next time. What I do like about making my own is that I can leave out the things I don't like and add more of the things I love. Your fruitcake looks delicious and doesn't resemble a brick like the store bought ones.
Mmmmmm...fruit cake.....yummmmm! I love it with butter on it.
Mind if I come over for a piece??:)
So, is there any left dear Miss Piggy? :)
Mackey, come on over, I'll boil the kettle!
Heather, you wanna come too? You can try your first ever morsel of fruit cake - something to remember all your life (smirks immodestly!)
Kerri, I am mortally offended (oink) that you would call me by that rude name (oink), and that you would suggest I had polished the cake off myself (snuffle snuffle). In fact, there is still a small wedge left. Tomorrow may be another story. (Got any slops?!)
I have raised my children and love to cook and looking forward to the free time ahead. But today, American Thanksgiving, there will only be three of us for dinner and I actually went out and bought the entire thing ready-made from the store! I am waiting for lightning to strike me dead or an ancient grandmother to appear in anger...but so far, so good.
November cake? That's a new one!
Post a Comment