Kentucky Christmas Cake Food

BLUE-RIBBON BUTTER CAKE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk, beating well after each addition., Pour into a greased and floured 10-in. tube pan. Bake at 350° until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 55-70 minutes. Cool 10 minutes. Run a knife around edges and center tube of pan. Invert cake onto a wire rack over waxed paper. , For sauce, combine the sugar, butter and water in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat just until butter is melted and sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat; stir in extracts., Poke holes in the top of the warm cake; spoon 1/4 cup sauce over cake. Let stand until sauce is absorbed. Repeat twice. Poke holes into sides of cake; brush remaining sauce over sides. Cool completely.

KENTUCKY CHRISTMAS CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325F and grease and flour a 10" tube pan.
• Soak the nutmeg in the whiskey for ten minutes.
• Stir together pecans, raisins, and 1/4 cup flour; set aside.
• Cream butter and sugar together until fluffy.
• Add eggs, one at a time until well incorporated.
• Fold in remaining 1 1/4 cups flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt, soaked nutmeg and pecan/raisin mixture until well combined.
• Spoon into prepared pan.
• Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until cake pulls away slightly from the edge of the pan.
• Let stand in the pan for 30 minutes, then turn out onto cooling rack for complete cooling.
• Store in an airtight container.

KENTUCKY FUNERAL CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter and flour a 9-inch springform pan.
• Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
• In a bowl cream together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs one at a time and beat thoroughly. Fold in the flour mixture alternately with the milk. Stir in vanilla.
• Pour into prepared pan and bake for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees and bake 60 to 70 minutes longer, until the cake is brown and a cake tester comes out clean. Cool on a rack for 10 minutes, then unmold and continue cooling.

MAKE & MATURE CHRISTMAS CAKE

Steps:

• Put 1kg mixed dried fruit, the zest and juice of 1 orange and 1 lemon, 150ml brandy or other alcohol, 250g softened butter and 200g light, soft brown sugar in a large pan set over a medium heat.
• Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 5 mins. Tip the fruit mixture into a large bowl and leave to cool for 30 mins.
• Heat oven to 150C/130C fan/gas 2. Line a deep 20cm cake tin with a double layer of baking parchment, then wrap a double layer of newspaper around the outside - tie with string to secure.
• Add 175g plain flour, 100g ground almonds, ½ tsp baking powder, 2 tsp mixed spice, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, ¼ tsp ground cloves, 100g flaked almonds, 4 large eggs and 1 tsp vanilla extract to the fruit mixture and stir well, making sure there are no pockets of flour.
• Tip into your prepared tin, level the top with a spatula and bake in the centre of the oven for 2 hrs.
• Remove the cake from the oven, poke holes in it with a skewer and spoon over 2 tbsp of your chosen alcohol. Leave the cake to cool completely in the tin.
• To store, peel off the baking parchment, then wrap well in cling film. Feed the cake with 1-2 tbsp alcohol every fortnight, until you ice it.
• Don't feed the cake for the final week to give the surface a chance to dry before icing.