Christmas cake - Stir Up Sunday
 

Is anyone out there making their Christmas cake this Sunday (today)?

In England we have 'Stir Up Sunday', six weeks before Christmas, when it is traditional to make your cake and also your Christmas pudding.

I don't bother with the pudding (it never gets eaten!) but do try and do my cake now.

This year I'll be doing my own Stir Up Monday though, since I forgot to soak my fruit overnight last night - so at least I've *started* the cake today....

What about others?

My Christmas cake was made on our Thanksgiving weekend (mid October) .... we're already eating it!
I'll make another double batch of it in the next week or so, to extend the good eating!! :)

I will make pecan pies on Wed. for Thanksgiving.

Americans don't have Christmas cake?!?!

You're right Sue, it is a type of heavy fruit cake with sultanas, raisins, currants, cherries, mixed peel etc., usually laced with alcohol (I'm doing brandy this year). Traditionally the cake is then covered with marzipan (ground almond paste) and then white icing (not frosting, but firm icing) over that. The top has some form of decoration - shops sell ready made cake ornaments like snowmen, Christmas trees, reindeer etc (some edible) or of course you can make your own.

QuiltE - I like your style! :)

Yes! ....If I could only have one, Christmas Cake or any of the other holiday goodies, my choice would be Christmas Cake.

It's often given a bad rep .... yes some CC is dreadful. Though many others are overly delightful in every way! Mine is all whole fruit/nuts and with the aging they soften up so you can easily cut the cake.




And yes, Christmas Cake and Fruitcake are pretty much one and the same here in North America. There are so many different variations in the ingredients. Also whether it's dark, medium or light. So from one to the other it can appear so not the same! :)

Another "fruitcake"
 

I have a recipe from a friend's mother that calls for white raisins, not so much of the dried fruit and pecans. It is really good! Different than the regular fruitcake recipe that people make jokes about throwing at each other. I'm not sure how far in advance we make it.
Kathy in TX

Kathy, I would love to have your recipe if you don't mind sharing. Sounds like something my family would like better than the one with too much fruit.

I love fruitcake! I know a lot of people hate it but that's usually because they haven't had the homemade kind. Panchita is that the tradition where everyone takes a turn stirring the mixture? When I was growing up we all helped my mom do her fruitcakes before Christmas. My job was to remove the skins from the almonds after they had soaked. My mom always did a pretty flower design on the tops of cakes. She used the almonds for the petals with a half candied cherry for the center. Wow what good memories this topic brings to mind!

DD made 5 at the beginning of the month. We're turning them over every Thursday and painting them with brandy. We traditionally give three away as gifts to very good friends after she has iced them. She is studying to be a chef and took over this task from me when she was 17. She is very creative with the icing and loves thinking of something new each year.