Sri Lankan Christmas Cake

from Catherine S.
This cake combines traditional ingredients with exotic fruits and spices. In Sri Lanka, a marzipan made of cashewnuts is the only icing used, and the cake is served in small pieces which are individually wrapped in decorative paper. Eating this cake was the culunary highlight of my year and I used to sneak into the kitchen and taste it during its preparation. Using a food processor to chop the fruit and nuts tends to alter the texture of the cake and although it is time consuming, I would advise you to chop all the ingredients by hand.

(Preparation time 55 minutes. Cooking time 1 hour 15 minutes.)
Makes 2 cakes.

Ingredients

• 50g (2 oz) candied peel
• 100g (3.5oz) chow (without syrup)
• 100g (3.5oz) stem ginger (without syrup)
• 100g (3.5oz) raisins
• 300g (10oz) sultanas
• 125g (4oz) currants
• 225g (8oz) candied ash pumpkin or crystalised pineapple
• 225g (8oz) cashew nuts chopped
• 50g (2oz) almonds chopped
• 100g (3.5oz) glacé cherries
• 3 tablespoonsful brandy
• 3 tablespoonsful rose water triple strength
• 2 tablespoonsful honey
• 1 tablespoonsful vanilla
• 1/2 a nutmeg grated
• 2 teaspoonsful ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoonful ground cardamom
• 1/2 teaspoonful ground cloves
• 225g (8oz) semolina
• 225g (8 oz) butter at room temperature
• 12 size 2 eggs
• 400g (14 oz) soft brown sugar

Directions

1. Finely chop the fruit and the nuts (the first 10 ingredients). Put into a bowl together with the honey and essences (the brandy, rose water, vanila) and the spices (nutmeg, cinnamon, cardamom and cloves). Mix thoroughly and leave covered for 24 hours.

2. Double line 2 cake tins of diameter 20 cm (8") with lightly- oiled greaseproof paper. Put the oven on to 140oC (275oF)

3. In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the semolina and the butter. Separate the eggs. In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks together with the sugar until pale. Mix in the semolina. Add the fruit, a little at a time using a cutting motion, to make sure that the cake batter is thoroughly mixed in with the dried fruit. This movement provides a lot of wrist exercise!

4. Whisk half the egg whites until stiff. (The rest can be used for meringues.) Add 4 tablespoonsful of the egg whites and beat into cake mixture to slacken it. Fold the rest of the beaten egg whites and mix thoroughly. Put the cake mixture into the two tins and cook for about 1½ hours, or until a skewer when inserted comes out clean. Cool the cake on a wire rack. Once cold prick the surfaces with a skewer and pour two tablespoonsful of brandy over each cake. Cover with foil, place in an airtight tin and leave for a week before icing.

Triple strength rosewater is available from chemists shops. In Sri Lanka the christmas cake is cut into pieces and individually wrapped and served during the festive season. The marzipan is made from ground cashew-nuts.