Make 3 months before Christmas
Ingredients
112 g Raisins
112 g Sultana
112 g Plums
56 g Currents
56 g Mixed Peel
56g Pumpkin preserve
½ jar Chow Chow (240g)
1½ jar Ginger preserve (240g)
28 g Cherries
20 g Cherries (this is kept whole)
50 Cashew-nuts
56 g Almond
1 tsp of each vanilla, rose water and bees honey
1 wine glass Brandy and liqueur
1 teaspoon mixed cinnamon, cloves and cardamoms powdered
Plum juice
the day before baking:
112 gm Semolina (Rulan in Sinhala)
112 gm Butter
1 Tbsp Strawberry Jam/Plum Jam
Ginger preserve syrup
on the day of baking:
6 Eggs
340 gm Sugar
Method
I put the fruits into a food processor and pulsed a few times, add this into a bowl or bottle, then I add thinly chopped cashew, cherries quartered, and the balance cherries in full then add the vanilla, rose water, bees honey, brandy, liqueur, cinnamon, cloves and cardamoms and tie the bowl covered with parchment paper or put into a bottle after mixing nicely and keep for around three months. I open up around once a week add some more brandy stir and close and keep.
When ready to make:
the day before:
Fry Semolina and add butter and fry till it smells nicely. Take off the fire and cool. Add all the fruits plum and raisins, cashew-nuts and almonds. Mix well. Then add cooled Semolina mixture and a wine glass of brandy and liqueur and spices and store well. Add the jam and small tumbler full of ginger preserve syrup. Tighten the mixture well and tie up the bowl with brown paper and leave for 24 hrs.
Next day separate the whites(Beat this separately and keep aside) and beat well for ½ hr yolks of egg and sugar. When well beaten with bubbles add fruit mixture and beat some more. Lastly add the well beaten whites of eggs and mix very lightly. Bake in moderate oven
I made mine at 180°C for 45 minutes then lower to 125 for another 20 minutes - depending on your oven it can take longer.
I made small holes with a toothpick and poured brandy into the holes with a syringe. Then wrapped it in oil paper. Each week I open it and inject brandy into it. When it is ready if you like you can break it up and fill into whatever shape of tin you like and then cover with marzipan and royal icing.
After butter semolina, jam and ginger preserve, cherry brandy and cognac (all small tumbler) the weight was 1718 gm
Cake weighed 2.224 kg - 4 Ibs without marzipan and royal icing.
I was able to cut 45 pieces – 2”x2” - Look at the cake cutter I have for this
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