Christmas Cake. A Christmas cake to succeed at home
At Christmas, there are undoubtedly many delicious desserts, but none reigns as triumphant as the traditional cake. Believe us, there is nothing more magical than the whole house filled with that rich aroma of this cake in the oven.
Ingredients to make the cake:
- 4 eggs M
- 100g. pastry-type wheat flour
- 130g. white sugar
- 30 g. unsweetened cocoa 70%
- Icing sugar to decorate
- For the syrup: 100 g. of sugar
- 100 ml. of warm water
- For the tart filling: 150 g. white chocolate
- 30 g. icing sugar
- 150 g. mascarpone cream cheese
- 75g. butter texture ointment
- To make the Christmas stars (decoration): 250 g. white chocolate
The Christmas cake that we have prepared is for those with a sweet tooth because one day is one day and we can afford to skip our diet, besides, what would Christmas be without its feasts? Based on chocolate sponge cake and filled with white chocolate cream, this cake will sweeten the family reunion even more.
It is very simple to prepare, the sponge cake is easy to make, the only trick is to spend a lot of time blanching the yolks with the sugar so that they have the perfect spongy texture and then carefully mix the rest of the ingredients and obtain a spongy result that has a bite that makes you sigh.
We have decorated it with some white chocolate stars that are beautiful and give a festive touch to the Christmas dessert. But this step is totally optional and can be simply decorated with icing sugar, chocolate shavings, or whatever we want. But since we're getting started, it doesn't cost much to prepare the stars and it will be much more successful.
Preparation of the base cake for the Christmas cake
Line two 20 cm rounds molds. With parchment paper. We use two because that way the two halves of the cake are perfect. We can use only one mold and then cut the cake in half very carefully. If we use only one we will have to slightly increase the baking time. We grease the bottom and the walls of each mold with butter.
Preheat the oven to 200º C, and heat up and down.
In a large bowl, beat the eggs with an electric mixer. On the one hand, the whites, we add the sugar without stopping beating and beat until they are white, that they double their size. We also give the yolks a touch of rods so that they rise a little. We put together the whites and mounted yolks in an enveloping way and carefully so that they do not go down too much. We booked.
Add the cocoa and continue beating until well integrated. Little by little we add the flour and mix with enveloping movements so as not to lose the texture. We put half of the mixture in one mold and the other half in the other.
Bake for 25 minutes at 200º C in the middle tray with heat above and below. If we see that the upper part is browning too much, we put parchment paper on top. Prick with a knife, if it comes out clean the cake is ready. Remove from the oven and let cool.
Preparation of the syrup
Meanwhile, we prepare the syrup. Put the water and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Mix until dissolved and let boil for 5 minutes. Transfer the syrup to a container and let it cool.
We pass a tongue or spatula through the walls of the molds and carefully unmold them. We turn the biscuits. And we soak them with the syrup pouring the liquid distributed over the surface. We turn the biscuits around again and reserve.
Preparation of the tart filling
To prepare the filling we melt the chocolate in the microwave at intervals of 30 seconds and half power. If we don't have a microwave, we melt it in a bain-Marie.
Add the butter, mascarpone, and icing sugar to the chocolate. We mix with electric rods until we integrate the four ingredients. Cover the top of one of the cakes with the cream. And we put the other cake on top of the cream. We booked.
Christmas cake decoration. Final presentation
We melt the chocolate to decorate in the microwave in the same way that we have done before. Line a baking tray with parchment paper. We spread the melted chocolate and spread it on the paper. We refrigerate for 30 minutes.
We take it out of the fridge and with a star cookie cutter or some other Christmas motif we are taking shape out of the chocolate. We can help each other with a knife if some of them resist. Sprinkle icing sugar over the cake with the help of a sieve so that it is uniform.
We decorate with some of the chocolate stars, if there are any leftovers we use them to decorate the plate. We can leave the cake like this or finish decorated with chocolate balls, burlap, or caramel stars. We serve at room temperature.
You can see all the step-by-step photos of our Christmas cake recipe in this album.
Tips for a perfect Christmas cake
If we keep the cake in the fridge, the filling will harden, so it is best to prepare it the same day we are going to eat it and leave it at room temperature.
The cake does not contain yeast, so it needs air to rise and be spongy. When adding the flour, we must do it very carefully.
The Traditional Fruitcake Recipe: Good Night Cake
variations
To make some taste variations and add your personal touch to this Christmas classic, you can use these variants. It is important that you respect the quantities so that the texture of the fruit cake is not altered.
ChocolateSubstitute 30g of flour for the same weight of cocoa powder and 100g of grated dark chocolate when adding the eggs.
with extra spices
Add 1½ teaspoons of ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger, and 1 tablespoon of orange zest.
with coconut
Substitute 50g of flour for the same weight of grated coconut. It turns out a very nice texture.
Of coffee
Substitute 30g of flour for 2 tablespoons of instant instant coffee.
with citrus
Add the zest of one large orange or two medium lemons after the sugar.
of nuts
Chop 50g of walnuts and add them after the sugar.
Of fruits
Substitute half the weight listed for liquids for its weight in fruit puree.
Sin alcohol
Replace the liquor with orange juice.
Do’s and Dont's
Do not limit yourself to buy one that you will not know how good it is, we give you thirteen secrets that will result in the best Fruitcake. Dare to prepare it!
- Use fresh and good quality ingredients, especially make sure that the spices are fresh.
- Soak the fruits and nuts in the liquor for at least 2 days. Then drain them and use the excess liquid in the recipe.
- Coat the fruits and nuts with flour so they don't sink into the dough.
- Be sure to grease and flour the pan or use waxed paper.
- When baking, place a pan of hot water on the bottom of the oven, this will prevent the cake from drying out.
- If you see that the cake is browning too quickly, place a sheet of aluminum foil on top of the cake.
- Still hot, bathe it with a little liquor, it will give it an extraordinary flavor and texture.
- Cool it in the mold that you baked it, already cold, remove it from the mold and if you used waxed paper, remove it carefully. Bathe it in the liquor indicated in your recipe and pack it in plastic.
- Ripen it, Fruitcakes taste much better the longer they mature. The ideal is to prepare it at least a month before.
- When packing the cake for storage, pack it first in waxed paper and then put the foil on, as if the foil touches the cake directly, the alcohol could react and affect the flavor.
- To store the cake for a long period of time, wrap it in brandy or wine-soaked towels, then wrap in plastic wrap and aluminum foil.
- To make a moister cake add 1 cup of applesauce to your recipe.
- If the cake has been in storage for a long time, you can refresh it again by gently heating it in the microwave or steaming it, serve it with a brandy sauce, frosting or desired topping.