The English Christmas muffin is a complex multi-ingredient dish that begins to be prepared long before the holiday. Traditional pastries with a lot of nuts and dried fruits are abundantly saturated with alcohol and acquire an unforgettable, very bright taste. A properly prepared cupcake is very beautiful and perfect for a gift.
Features of English Christmas baking
A Christmas cake, like a traditional wedding cake, takes a very long time to prepare. After baking, the product should rest, infuse, acquire a rich expressive taste. The minimum aging period is a week, but true adherents of tradition begin to prepare Christmas pastries as early as January. The delicacy is high in calories, it is rich in carbohydrates, while the cake contains many valuable microelements. Pastries are served with strong tea or mulled wine.
The uninitiated may wonder: why doesn't a cupcake made from natural products go bad? The answer is simple - all the time while the baking is infused, it is abundantly saturated with alcohol. Most often, the cake is poured with brandy, but you can use liqueurs, sherry, cognac, rum, whiskey, a variety of liqueurs and liqueurs. An important condition is that during infusion, it is necessary to place the product in an airtight container or a dense plastic bag. The baked goods will not become stale, the taste will become as concentrated as possible.
To make the cake tasty, the composition includes a variety of dried fruits, nuts, candied fruits. The dough must be filled with cinnamon (small sour raisins), lemon and orange candied fruits, candied cherries and almond kernels. You can increase the amount of ingredients by adding roasted and chopped walnuts, prunes, dried apricots, dates. The original spicy taste will be provided by spices: nutmeg, vanilla, ginger, cinnamon.
It is customary to serve Christmas muffins on the table during the entire festive week, as well as to give to friends, colleagues and relatives along with homemade cookies, homemade jam and other delicacies. The finished product looks very impressive in photos and videos.
Classic Christmas Cupcake: Step by Step Recipe
Dessert preparation starts with baking the base. It is prepared in a rectangular or round shape. Split metal molds are traditionally used, but practical silicone containers that do not require lubrication can be used.
Ingredients:
- 450 g cinnamon;
- 200 g of light pitted raisins;
- 200 g of raisins;
- 125 g candied cherries;
- 75 g of candied orange and lemon;
- 75 g almond kernels;
- 1 tsp lemon peel shavings;
- 300 g wheat flour;
- 250 g of high quality butter;
- 250 g brown sugar or powdered sugar;
- 5 large eggs;
- 0.25 tsp salt;
- 1 tsp baking powder;
- 1 tbsp. l. molasses or dark liquid honey;
- 1 tsp spice mixtures;
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon;
- 150 ml brandy, sherry or rum.
A week before baking, wash dried fruits and soak them in brandy or rum along with lemon zest and spices. Close container tightly and shake it occasionally. After this treatment, the fruits will become soft and have a bright taste. Cut the cherries into halves, grate the lemon peel. Scald the almonds with boiling water and remove the tough skin.
Beat the softened butter with sugar until fluffy. While beating, add eggs. Sift flour, mix with salt, baking powder and spices. Pour the flour mixture into the butter mixture in portions, knead the dough. Set aside some dough, add molasses, almonds, candied cherries and dried fruits to the larger part.
Grease a baking dish and cover with baking paper. Its edges should protrude beyond the edge of the baking dish to prevent the dough from burning during baking. Spread the oil on the paper again. Put the dough into a mold so that it takes up no more than ¾ of the volume. Lay the dough on top without candied fruits and nuts, level the surface. Wrap the form with parchment paper and place on a baking sheet lined with several layers of newspaper. Place it in an oven preheated to 140 degrees. Bake for 3-3, 5 hours, check the willingness with a wooden splinter. The finished product takes on a beautiful rich color.
Remove the dish from the oven, sprinkle the cake with brandy or rum, wrap it back in paper and leave overnight. The next day, pierce pastries with a thick needle in several places, sprinkle liberally with alcohol and place in an airtight container. An alternative is to wrap the cake in parchment and foil and then place it in a plastic bag.
Place the cake in a cool, but not cold place for at least a week. The ideal holding time is 1 month. Every 5-7 days, spray the product with a portion of alcohol and immediately close tightly. The more time the cupcake spends in the container, the brighter and more unusual its taste will be.
Cupcake decoration: simple and effective
It is customary to decorate Christmas cake with marzipan figurines. You can make it yourself by mixing crushed almonds and powdered sugar in equal proportions. Almond paste is thoroughly mixed, if desired, it can be tinted with food colors. Snowmen, deer, bells and other figurines are made from marzipans.
To make the cupcake more elegant, it is covered with royal icing.
Ingredients:
- 450 g icing sugar;
- 2 egg whites;
- 2 tsp lemon juice;
- 1 tsp glycerin.
Combine proteins, glycerin and lemon juice in a bowl. Sift the powdered sugar, add it in portions to the protein mass and beat until the mass acquires the consistency of sour cream. Put the cake on a dish, cover it generously with icing, smooth it with a silicone spatula and let it set. Decorate the pastry with marzipan figurines, sprinkle with powdered sugar and decorate with holly sprigs.
