and BAKE

 October is Christma cake baking time, I soak my dried fruit in the juice of 2 lemons and 2 large oranges, I have also added the zest, overnight the fruit will take in all the juice, be nice and plump for baking the next morning.

I have before made 2 cakes, one for us and a second for daughter and SIL, this year I'm making a third smaller cake for my brother. I mixed all the fruit, the packets of mixed fruit from the shops have too much peel, so I only use one small bag and add other fruits, I have weighed out the fruit for the other cakes and these oranges and lemon will be used.

I save this piece of paper, it's part of my history, I found this recipe in a Magazine and tried it, we loved the cake, so I typed it out and use it every year for over 20 years. I do have a scanned copy on my computer, so when this page is too tatty the recipe won't be lost. Like most cooks I have made notes on it, the main one is oven temperature and cooking time, our ovens work so much better, so less heat and time these days.

Three cakes all baked, the third cake I made the same quantity, the leftover mixture I baked as small cakes, a nice treat for hubby and I.

I have 3 cake ribbons, I will marzipan and ice the whole of the two big cakes but my brother is not keen on the marzipan and icing, so I will only do the top on his smaller cake, I am starting to think on decorations for the top of the cakes, I'm going to keep it simple.

The ingredients are not cheap, but I had been collecting an extra pack on each shop, so I had everything I need weeks early, including the marzipan and icing. I'm glad I got things early as the supermarket shelves were low on stock last week.

There was no booze in the pre-cook soak, so I have time to add brandy a few times, I won't add so much to daughters cake as Will loves to eat it.

Hubby does all the cooking and baking so this is my joy to make every year. The house has been full of spices for days, it's a great way to spend wet days.

Christmas is coming, so I'm pleased I have done this task, are you making a cake or anything special this year.