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Alison Holst's Golden Christmas cake
Posted by PennyG
Alison Holst's Golden Christmas cake November 22, 2019 07:22PM |
Registered: 18 years ago Posts: 2,481 |
My daughter-in-law doesn't like raisins, sultanas etc so I usually use Alison Holst's Golden Christmas cake recipe that has dried papaya, mango, melon and craisins. We like the flavour of this cake but it invariably falls apart when we cut it. I thought it was because the chunks of fruit were too big so I have tried cutting them smaller but that didn't solve the problem. Now I am tossing up between replacing the ground almonds with extra flour or reducing the amount of fruit so there is more 'cake' to hold it together. Any ideas?
Re: Alison Holst's Golden Christmas cake November 22, 2019 11:35PM |
Admin Registered: 18 years ago Posts: 7,844 |
PennyG, sultanas, raisins & currants all seem to have a tiny amount of moisture in them, more so, I think, than crystalised fruit. Is it possible the fruit is drawing more moisture from whatever liquid you are using? Increasing the amount of liquid you use for boiling the fruit could perhaps help.
Never having made this cake myself, I don't know what sort of consistency the 1 cup of liquid and 5 eggs produces, so I'm only guessing.
Never having made this cake myself, I don't know what sort of consistency the 1 cup of liquid and 5 eggs produces, so I'm only guessing.
Re: Alison Holst's Golden Christmas cake November 23, 2019 03:05AM |
Registered: 18 years ago Posts: 5,699 |
PennyG here is a link to the same question Helen asked a few years ago [forum.foodlovers.co.nz] and I wonder if the answer is related to the dried fruit you have used (as in Auzzi's No. 2 list of possible scenarios). Or maybe it's the flour as per Auzzi's suggestion. I use high grade flour as I'm sure you do too. Haven't seen you on the forum for years it seems - nice to see you here again!
Regards,
Dawn.
Regards,
Dawn.
Re: Alison Holst's Golden Christmas cake November 23, 2019 12:44PM |
Registered: 18 years ago Posts: 2,481 |
Re: Alison Holst's Golden Christmas cake November 23, 2019 12:55PM |
Registered: 18 years ago Posts: 2,481 |
Thanks Dawn. I don't think it is dry fruit because it is simmered in wine then soaked over night. I am sure it is well packed as there are no gaps round the fruit. I do use high-grade flour so wouldn't think that would be the issue either. I do cook it longer than it says in the recipe but it is still quite raw in the middle if I don't. Perhaps I need to stir it more to develop some gluten.
Re: Alison Holst's Golden Christmas cake November 24, 2019 06:51AM |
Registered: 17 years ago Posts: 3,660 |
PennyG, your idea about replacing the ground almonds with extra flour might work as I, in the not too distant past, substituted 50g of ground almonds instead of flour into my daily bread recipe and it did increase the chance of it being crumbly.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/24/2019 06:51AM by J1.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/24/2019 06:51AM by J1.
Re: Alison Holst's Golden Christmas cake December 11, 2019 04:43AM |
Registered: 15 years ago Posts: 63 |
I used to make this cake quite often, and was a real favourite and never had any problems with it. My motto for all fruit cakes is long and slow, so I always have the temperature lower than stated and cook it longer than stated. When you can smell it, it is nearly ready, so keep an eye on it.
Re: Alison Holst's Golden Christmas cake December 29, 2019 09:23AM |
Registered: 18 years ago Posts: 2,481 |
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