Countdown to Christmas ...25

My Mother's Christmas Cake...

Each year, I try to blog a visual advent calendar . This year, my mother turned 90 and I am dedicating this series of blog posts to her because this year, it's all about Christmas Cake, and of course I am starting off with my mother's much loved Christmas Cake - moist, delicious and intoxicatingly rich.

For more years than I can remember ( probably about 40 years) , my mother has been sending me Christmas cakes, so I don't remember ever making a cake for Christmas! You might think that this is not such a significant gesture, but my mother lives interstate 1593 km ( 990 miles) away, so she has had to depend on Australia Post or adding to the luggage allowance of visiting relatives.The longest distance Christmas cakes have had to be sent is when we were living in Bombala, NSW which is 2393 km (1486 miles) away from Townsville, Queensland. Throughout the years, it has never been just one cake - there is always one for my husband's family Christmas celebration as well , and usually another spare!

Many people have asked my mother for this recipe, but many many years ago, she promised a friend that she would not distribute this cake recipe to others and she has kept her word. This has its drawbacks, as Mum then has to make many cakes as we dare not try to replicate this recipe although I think some of us have tried to watch and remember the ingredients and method. It is a dried fruit laden boiled cake. I personally think the secret of this beautiful cake is the "feeding" of the cake - the process of adding alcohol regularly to the cooked cake over a month or so. Nothing like some good quality brandy to add that extra flavour! Perhaps rum or even sherry would also suffice, but whatever the alcohol, it seems to add another dimension of richness.

We have broken the tradition of not cutting the cake until Christmas Eve and can attest on this first day of Advent that this year's cake is better than ever! Thanks, Mum!

Previous post about Christmas cake:
http://empresswu.blogspot.com.au/2014/12/christmas-countdown-2-christmas-cake.html

Comments

"Temari Or Not Temari?" Tutorial

Background Information: Temari (literally translated “hand ball”) is a Japanese folk craft that is alleged to have originated in China and was introduced to Japan five or six hundred years ago. Traditionally, the balls were constructed from wrapped kimono fabric remnants and silk threads. They were made by mothers and grandmothers for children to play with. Nowadays, decorative embroidered temari represent a highly valued and cherished gift symbolizing friendship and loyalty. Recently I've wondered if your don't use traditional techniques whether you should call what you create "temari". That is an ongoing debate but today I share what I do to make a "non-traditional temari".... 1.I start with a polystrene ball ( traditionally the balls were wound silk scraps or other organic materials) and begin to wrap with approx 4 ply wool, turning the ball as I wrap. 2. I then wrap another layer of wool in a similar fashion , this time a 3 or 2 ...

Fragments

Some days are just your lucky days - today I was very fortunate and privileged to open the first ever Australian exhibition "Fragments" by UK Fibre Artist Sue Hotchkis . Here is a little about the techniques of this amazing textile artist from her own website ... Working intuitively with print and stitch, marks, textures and colours are exaggerated, intensified to reveal the detail and complexity within the images. Materials are deconstructed using modern methods, ripped, burnt and dyed. Time is invested in their reconstruction; pieces can take from a week to several months to create. Whilst being aesthetically pleasing the work can also act as a metaphor for deterioration and ruin, associated with urban decay and ultimately death and loss. They evolve organically, built up with layers of print, cloth, paper, and stitch into three-dimensional abstract forms that hover between object and image; to create a unique, visual and tactile lan...

Christmas Countdown 3 ; Christmas tree # 23 - Mannequins and Motors

Mannequin and Mercedes Benz logo Christmas trees Advent Blog Day 23 - Mannequins and Motors ... or... What does a Mannequin have in common with a Mercedes Benz? I have been in such a dilemma as I have so few days left and so many Christmas trees I want to feature. So, in the spirit of balance today, I've combined a couple of categories into the theme of Mannequins and Motors - winsome wonders and winning wheels .... Mannequin and motor oil Christmas trees Hubcaps and Mannequin Christmas trees Not satisfied with auto parts? Decorate with the whole car.... Mannequin and Mini Cooper cars Christmas trees And tyres seem to be a popular choice and somehow they go beautifully with these 'green' mannequin trees... Tyres and red ribbons Tyres and baubles on mannequin Christmas trees Red bird wire form and sparkly tyres Ch...

Empress Wu Designs with Wilma

Search This Blog