Christmas At The Cupcake Cafe by Jenny Colgan Read Free Book Online Page B

spice
    803 (225g) unsalted butter
    803 (225g) soft brown sugar
    4 large eggs
    203 (50g) almonds, chopped (the skins can be left on)
    1 level dessertspoon black treacle
    grated zest 1 lemon
    grated zest 1 orange
    403 (110g) whole blanched almonds (only if you don’t intend to ice the cake
    You will also need an 8 inch (20cm) round cake tin or a 7 inch (18cm) square tin, greased and lined with silicone paper (baking parchment). Tie a band of brown paper round the outside of the tin for extra protection.
    You need to begin this cake the night before you want to bake it. All you do is weigh out the dried fruit and mixed peel, place it in a mixing bowl and mix in the brandy as evenly and thoroughly as possible. Cover the bowl with a clean tea cloth and leave the fruit aside to absorb the brandy for 12 hours.
    Next day pre-heat theoven to gas mark 1, 275°F (140°C). Then measure out all the rest of the ingredients, ticking them off to make quite sure they’re all there. The treacle will be easier to measure if you remove the lid and place the tin in a small pan of barely simmering water. Now begin the cake by sifting the flour, salt and spices into a large mixing bowl, lifting the sieve up high to give the flour a good airing. Next, in a separate large mixing bowl, whisk the butter and sugar together until it’s light, pale and fluffy. Now beat the eggs in a separate bowl and add them to the creamed mixture a tablespoonful at a time; keep the whisk running until all the egg is incorporated. If you add the eggs slowly by degrees like this the mixture won’t curdle. If it does, don’t worry, any cake full of such beautiful things can’t fail to taste good!
    When all the egg has been added, fold in the flour and spices, using gentle, folding movements and not beating at all (this is to keep all that precious air in). Now fold in the fruit, peel, chopped nuts and treacle and finally the grated lemon and orange zests. Next, using a large kitchen spoon, transfer the cake mixture into the prepared tin, spread it out evenly with the back of a spoon and, if you don’t intend to ice the cake, lightly drop the whole blanched almonds in circles or squares all over the surface. Finally cover the top of the cake with a double square of silicone paper with a 50p-size hole in the centre (this gives extra protection during the long slow cooking).
    Bake the cake on thelowest shelf of the oven for 4½–4¾ hours. Sometimes it can take up to 4½–¾ hour longer than this, but in any case don’t look till at least 4 hours have passed. Cool the cake for 30 minutes in the tin, then remove it to a wire rack to finish cooling. When it’s cold, ‘feed’ it – make small holes in the top and base of the cake with a cocktail stick or small skewer, then spoon over a few teaspoons of brandy, wrap it in double silicone paper secured with an elastic band and either wrap again in foil or store in an airtight container. You can now feed it at odd intervals until you need to ice or eat it.

    Pearl looked at Issy. ‘You’re doing this on purpose,’ she said.
    ‘I am not,’ said Issy. ‘It needs time to sit.’
    Everyone who had walked through the door had raised their noses and sniffed appreciatively and smiled.
    ‘You know, you can buy this smell in a scented candle,’ said Caroline. ‘It’s only fifty pounds.’
    The others looked at her.
    ‘Fifty pounds for a candle?’ said Pearl. ‘My church sells them for thirty pence.’
    ‘Well, they’re for gifts.’
    ‘People give candlesas gifts?’
    ‘Smart people do,’ said Caroline.
    ‘Smart people give gifts that say, here, take this, I think your house smells really terrible and you need this stinky candle to make it better?’
    ‘Hush, you two,’ said Issy, putting on the noisy coffee machine to stop them bickering. She glanced over at the fireplace, where she had hung a small red stocking for Louis. Pearl followed her gaze.
    ‘Are you
smuggling in
Christmas