Holiday Cakes!

[Mistress Muffy]

Do any of you bake special cakes for the Christmas season..... either favorites you have found or any old family cakes?

My Grandmother baked a lot & we always had this double stacked sheet cake, one layer was red & the other green so when you cut into it it was just beautiful. She covered it in buttercream frosting & decorated the sides w/ real candy canes & red & green accents. Also she made cheesecake in a 13x9 casserole dish. The inside was a light red & the top (it was new york type cheesecake) was light green & then she wrote Merry Christmas on it w/ those little jell tubes.

My Aunt made all the traditional Yugoslavian things, Nut rolls & Strudels & Kolaches!!

Now I bake all that but my big thing is the Rum Cakes. I sold a lot of Cheesecakes & Rum cakes thru my diner around the holidays!! Here are some pictures of them on my Halloween web site.

http://www.geocities.com/collinwood841/sweetstodieformore.html

Mistress Muffy

[Sickie Ickie]

Wow! Is it possible to get diabeties from looking at all those beautiful creme pies? :p

[Mistress Muffy]

Moderation Sickie...moderation...just look at them once!

Muf

[Sickie Ickie]

Must....not...look...

[Mummy deer-est]

Forget that "don't look twice stuff"!!!!!

*Don't mind me, I'll just be licking my screen!*
YUM!

[Sickie Ickie]

*dirty thoughts* LOL

[Mummy deer-est]

/\
l
l
one "sickie" old man....

:D

[Sickie Ickie]

That's me. :rolleyes:

[Mistress Muffy]

Mummy...he's so bad!!

the Muffster

[Mummy deer-est]

What shall we do with him, Muffy?
No, Sickie, not like that....
:)

[Sickie Ickie]

Darn. hehhehehehhehheee :p

[Mistress Muffy]

I think we should email Santa!!

Muf

[Clarice]

Sickie definately belongs on the naughty list.
It's great Sickie you'll love the naughty list! I know I do!

[Clarice]

For my holiday goody bags I make Pumpkin Cake and individual Pineapple Upside Down Cakes.

[Mistress Muffy]

oh Clarice those sound like some really "Goody Bags!"

Muf

[Sickie Ickie]

Now we know why SHE's On the naughty list! Dispensing calories like water! LOL

[Clarice]

LOL! That's not why I'M on the naughty list, that's a whole different goody :D. And I remove all the calories from my goodies (except the ones for my skinny friends and family :p). I'm special like that.

[XMASBB70]

My Grandma used to bake Mokas (that's how we call them in French anyways), then my aunt baked them... now I'm the one stuck with this delicious, but a pain in the a** to make, tradition!!! ;)

It's basically a "hard" white cake (not moist), that you cut into 1 square inch pieces, then you add frosting to all six sides (frosting made with shortening and powder sugar - yeah! that's the new item on Weight Watchers menu!!!!) and then you roll all the little cakes into either shredded coconut or chopped walnut...

[TheThirdSpirit]

I have an inquiry. Does anyone have a recipe for a really good fruitcake? I never really thought much about them except to make stereotypical jokes when occasion arose until I wached some cooking show, I believe on PBS, where they made the most amazing looking fruitcake I've ever seen.........and kind of been obsessed about trying ever since. Subsequent attempts to find the recipe have not been successful as I really can't remember what show it was I watched, and I haven't been very successful in finding a similar picture of what I remember it looking like.

Just curious.

[Sickie Ickie]

Thirdspirit, try foodnetwork.com That's where I get my recipes.

[TheThirdSpirit]

Thirdspirit, try foodnetwork.com That's where I get my recipes.

Thanks a million! Great resource. I might have found it! Here.

Free Range Fruitcake Recipe courtesy Alton Brown
Show: Good Eats
Episode: Cable in the Classroom





1 cup golden raisins
1 cup currants
1/2 cup sun dried cranberries
1/2 cup sun dried blueberries
1/2 cup sun dried cherries
1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped
Zest of one lemon, chopped coarsely
Zest of one orange, chopped coarsely
1/4 cup candied ginger, chopped
1 cup gold rum
1 cup sugar
5 ounces unsalted butter (1 1/4 sticks)
1 cup unfiltered apple juice
4 whole cloves, ground
6 allspice berries, ground
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs
1/4 to 1/2 cup toasted pecans, broken
Brandy for basting and/or spritzing

Combine dried fruits, candied ginger and both zests. Add rum and macerate overnight, or microwave for 5 minutes to re-hydrate fruit.
Place fruit and liquid in a non-reactive pot with the sugar, butter, apple juice and spices. Bring mixture to a boil stirring often, then reduce heat and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat and cool for at least 15 minutes. (Batter can be completed up to this point, then covered and refrigerated for up to 2 days. Bring to room temperature before completing cake.)
Heat oven to 325 degrees.
Combine dry ingredients and sift into fruit mixture. Quickly bring batter together with a large wooden spoon, then stir in eggs one at a time until completely integrated, then fold in nuts. Spoon into a 10-inch non-stick loaf pan and bake for 1 hour. Check for doneness by inserting toothpick into the middle of the cake. If it comes out clean, it's done. If not, bake another 10 minutes, and check again.
Remove cake from oven and place on cooling rack or trivet. Baste or spritz top with brandy and allow to cool completely before turning out from pan.
When cake is completely cooled, seal in a tight sealing, food safe container. Every 2 to 3 days, feel the cake and if dry, spritz with brandy. The cake's flavor will enhance considerably over the next two weeks. If you decide to give the cake as a gift, be sure to tell the recipient that they are very lucky indeed.

[Sickie Ickie]

Sounds like a lot of time and love in that, spirit. :)

[Blinky]

I Love fruit Cakes ... Thanks for the recipe

Even Sickie,lol

[digbugsgirl]

I've never actually baked a Christmas cake (hmmm, maybe I can start a new tradition??) but I work part time at an Italian restaurant and they gave us a Panettone last year along with a bottle of champagne. It was sooo good. I hope they do that again this year!

[Blinky]

I like making Yule Logs Cake . They are so cute to decorate.

First you have to bake a chocolate cake in a thin cake pan. like a jelly roll. Then when it is done you lay it out on a flat surface and put in the filling, some kind of Jelly fillling that you like. I use strawberry..
Then you spread the filling all over the cooled cake and carefully roll it like a jelly roll and place it on a serving tray. and Ice it with choc-o-late icing. to make it look like a log. Then you add mint leaves to it for garnish.. some people even cut a small piece of it to and add it back on to make branches.
I will try and find the recipe ..

[Sickie Ickie]

Blinks, if it helps, I have a recipie on the SP site in the food catagory. :)

In fact, if anyone wants to add Christmas how-to receipies to the food section, I'd appreciate it. We're a little skimpy in that area.

[Mummy deer-est]

Oh, I forgot one...it is kinda like a coffee cake...we call it monkey bread in our family (I have no idea why, b/c it has no bannana's) but:

You layer a bundt pan with walnuts
cut up refigerated bisquits into little sections, they ball them up, and roll them in cinnamon sugar and layer them on top of the walnuts.
Then you pour on a mixture of butter and brown sugar and bake.

It is my favorite desert ever -- butter and cin. sugar is all I need to be happy in life. :D:eek:

I can add it to your site if you want, SI.

[Blinky]

Mummy deer-est i think It got its name from the Monkey ball tree... But I add Brown sugar to mine too.yumm..
Here is the Yule log recipe..
Yule Log
5 eggs, room temperature, separated
2/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
FILLING:
2 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
MOCHA BUTTER CREAM FROSTING:
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa
1 teaspoon strong coffee
confectioners' sugar
Chopped nuts


In a large mixing bowl, beat egg yolks at high speed until light and fluffy.
Gradually add sugar, beating until mixture is thick and light-colored. Add
flour and cocoa, beating on low speed. In another bowl, beat egg whites until
soft peaks form; fold into batter. mix until no streaks of white remaining.
Grease a 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. pan; line with waxed paper, and grease and
flour paper. Spread batter evenly in pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes
or until cake springs back when touched lightly. Cover with waxed paper and
cool completely on wire rack. Remove paper; invert cake onto an 18-in. long
piece of waxed paper dusted with confectioners' sugar. Trim edges from all
four
sides of cake. For filling, combine flour and milk in a saucepan. Cook over
low heat; stirring until thick. Cool. In a mixing bowl, cream sugar, butter
and vanilla. Add flour mixture; bet until fluffy. Fold in walnuts if desired.
Spread on cake; roll up, jelly-roll style, starting from one short end. For
frosting, beat butter until fluffy in a small bowl. Beat in sugar, cocoa and
coffee. Spread over cake, using a fork to create a bark-like effect. Sprinkle
with confectioners' sugar and nuts if desired.

************************************************.
2/3 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 5
eggs 3/4 cup white sugar 2 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate 2
tablespoons water 2 tablespoons coffee-flavored liqueur 2 tablespoons white
sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking soda confectioners' sugar for dusting 4 (1 ounce)
squares semisweet baking chocolate 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
3
cups confectioners' sugar 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 tablespoon coffee
flavored liqueur
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly spray a
10x15 inch jellyroll pan and line with parchment paper. Sift flour with baking
powder and salt and set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs on high for several minutes
until they are very pale and fluffy. Gradually add in the sugar, beating 1 to
2
minutes more or until very thick. Gently, but thoroughly, fold in the flour
mixture.
3. Melt the chocolate in a small saucepan over low heat. In a small
bowl, combine the 2 tablespoons of water with the 2 tablespoons coffee liqueur
and the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and the baking soda, then gradually stir
into the melted chocolate until smooth. Quickly, but thoroughly, fold
chocolate mixture into batter.
4. Pour batter into prepared 10x15 inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees F (175
degrees C) for 18 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake
comes out clean. Lightly sift an even layer of confectioners sugar over a
cloth napkin or tea towel (do not use Terry-cloth). Flip the cake out of its
pan onto the prepared cloth as soon as it comes from the oven. Carefully peel
away parchment paper. Lightly dust top of cake with confectioners sugar, then
trim away crisp edges. Starting with one of the short sides of the cake,
immediately roll the cake up in the cloth, jellyroll style, and cool
thoroughly
on a rack.
5. For the Filling and Frosting: In a small saucepan over low heat,
melt the chocolate. Remove from heat and let cool to lukewarm. In a medium
bowl,
beat the cream cheese with the confectioners sugar until smooth, then blend
in the vanilla extract and coffee liqueur. Blend in the melted chocolate.
Unroll the cake and spread about 1/3 of the filling evenly over the surface.
Roll the cake back up.
6. Arrange cake roll on serving tray, then frost generously, swiping
with an icing spatula to form the long 'bark line' design. Swipe ends of cake
in a circular motion to simulate the tree-rings of a cut log. Decorate log as
desired with holly leaves and berries. Red Raspberry and Blueberries or candy canes layed on the tray..
sorry this was so long

[Sickie Ickie]

It is my favorite desert ever -- butter and cin. sugar is all I need to be happy in life. :D:eek:

I can add it to your site if you want, SI.

I can use all the christmas recipes I can get, Mum. Just be sure to post a pic, too. :)

xmaslilly has been terrific submitting things!

[Blinky]

MM Jst looking is the Diabetic way sugar free.lol
eating them on the other hand I would need a gallon of insulin but I bet they are gooooood !!!

[TheThirdSpirit]

Okay I've finished it.



Thanks a million! Great resource. I might have found it! Here.

Free Range Fruitcake Recipe courtesy Alton Brown
Show: Good Eats
Episode: Cable in the Classroom





1 cup golden raisins
1 cup currants
1/2 cup sun dried cranberries
1/2 cup sun dried blueberries
1/2 cup sun dried cherries
1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped
Zest of one lemon, chopped coarsely
Zest of one orange, chopped coarsely
1/4 cup candied ginger, chopped
1 cup gold rum
1 cup sugar
5 ounces unsalted butter (1 1/4 sticks)
1 cup unfiltered apple juice
4 whole cloves, ground
6 allspice berries, ground
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs
1/4 to 1/2 cup toasted pecans, broken
Brandy for basting and/or spritzing

Combine dried fruits, candied ginger and both zests. Add rum and macerate overnight, or microwave for 5 minutes to re-hydrate fruit.
Place fruit and liquid in a non-reactive pot with the sugar, butter, apple juice and spices. Bring mixture to a boil stirring often, then reduce heat and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat and cool for at least 15 minutes. (Batter can be completed up to this point, then covered and refrigerated for up to 2 days. Bring to room temperature before completing cake.)
Heat oven to 325 degrees.
Combine dry ingredients and sift into fruit mixture. Quickly bring batter together with a large wooden spoon, then stir in eggs one at a time until completely integrated, then fold in nuts. Spoon into a 10-inch non-stick loaf pan and bake for 1 hour. Check for doneness by inserting toothpick into the middle of the cake. If it comes out clean, it's done. If not, bake another 10 minutes, and check again.
Remove cake from oven and place on cooling rack or trivet. Baste or spritz top with brandy and allow to cool completely before turning out from pan.
When cake is completely cooled, seal in a tight sealing, food safe container. Every 2 to 3 days, feel the cake and if dry, spritz with brandy. The cake's flavor will enhance considerably over the next two weeks. If you decide to give the cake as a gift, be sure to tell the recipient that they are very lucky indeed.

Here's what mine looks like
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q5/Sickid70/ChristmasStuff002.jpg

I don't know if the picture does it justice, but Man, this thing tastes Brilliant!!

[Sickie Ickie]

Thanks for the update! It looks delish! How much did it cost in supplies???

[Mistress Muffy]

Man does that thing look good!! Very very nice picture too!

Muffy

[TheThirdSpirit]

Thanks for the update! It looks delish! How much did it cost in supplies???

It's kind of hard to say, I had a lot of the basic stuff already. The dried fruits got a little pricy, like the blueberries, cherries, and cranberries. I think the dried blueberries were like $10.00 a pound or something (of course I didn't buy a whole pound) but that might could change year to year according to the season the berries have that year.

As a further update: I've had two orders for next year at this point.

[TheThirdSpirit]

Man does that thing look good!! Very very nice picture too!

Muffy

Thanks! I figured I'd better make it pretty.:D

[Mummy deer-est]

Well, I normally stay 10 feet away from all fruitcakes, but that one looks good -- I'd at leat give it a try! And that is good, coming from me! :D

[Noel]

Do any of you bake special cakes for the Christmas season..... either favorites you have found or any old family cakes?

My Grandmother baked a lot & we always had this double stacked sheet cake, one layer was red & the other green so when you cut into it it was just beautiful. She covered it in buttercream frosting & decorated the sides w/ real candy canes & red & green accents. Also she made cheesecake in a 13x9 casserole dish. The inside was a light red & the top (it was new york type cheesecake) was light green & then she wrote Merry Christmas on it w/ those little jell tubes.

My Aunt made all the traditional Yugoslavian things, Nut rolls & Strudels & Kolaches!!

Now I bake all that but my big thing is the Rum Cakes. I sold a lot of Cheesecakes & Rum cakes thru my diner around the holidays!! Here are some pictures of them on my Halloween web site.

http://www.geocities.com/collinwood841/sweetstodieformore.html

Mistress Muffy

My goodness! These made my mouth water! I love rum cake! Can you post a recipe for that???:)

[ShellBell]

I remember when i was a kid (soooooo long ago!!) I helped my mom make this xmas tree out of cookie dough. I am thinking it was just a plain sugar cookie dough but we would roll it into rings (starting with a bigger ring on the bottom) and just set them on top of each other to form a xmas tree. Prob use a little frosting to keep them from falling and then decorate the "tree" with what ever u want. Seems like something kids would enjoy helping with.Lilly,, do u remember this?

[Xmaslilly]

Yup sure do Shell...brings back memories
yes we rolled the cookie dough into tubes then formed circles big to small towards the top. Baked them on a cookie sheet separately, how ever many fit on the sheet, then green frosted each one and stacked them. We used those shiny deorating balls and stuff to trim it..
It sure was good too!!

[Mummy deer-est]

Okay, ladies...that sounds good, but my more curious question is -- how are you related?
:)

[ShellBell]

Well Mum..We are sisters.

[Sickie Ickie]

Awesome! Family is great to have around!

I'd love to see a pic of these trees. :D

[ShellBell]

I haven't made them in yrs so now that i have thought about them again i will have to do it but it prob won't be til next xmas. sorry ickie.. But you never know!!! I could be bored some day and bake away!!

[Sickie Ickie]

Bored? With this Forum? NEVER! LOL

[Mummy deer-est]

I love it -- wish my sister was into the same stuff as me!

[Xmaslilly]

Maybe someday when she is down here we will make them and get a pic for ya..

[Sickie Ickie]

That would be cool, of course I may make them first! :D

[mshelene]

Do any of you bake special cakes for the Christmas season..... either favorites you have found or any old family cakes?.....

http://www.geocities.com/collinwood841/sweetstodieformore.html

Mistress Muffy

--Thanks for the link, Muffy. I'm thinking of having a holiday dessert buffet in december for some friends and I'm looking for ideas for good desserts to have.

[Sickie Ickie]

Yule log always comes to mind during Dec.

[mshelene]

Yule log always comes to mind during Dec.

--Anybody have a good recipe for a "Yule log"?

[Sickie Ickie]

Food network has a difficult one, but supposed to be delicious

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_20878,00.html

and this one claims to be easy:

http://www.outofthefryingpan.com/recipes/cake.buche.de.noel.shtml#photos

[mshelene]

Food network has a difficult one, but supposed to be delicious

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_20878,00.html

and this one claims to be easy:

http://www.outofthefryingpan.com/recipes/cake.buche.de.noel.shtml#photos

--I like the second recipe for the Yule Log. It looks good in the photo but it has coffee in it which I don't like.

[firedancer41]

Well, we are German so my mom always makes Stolen but is actually more like bread than cake. It has nuts and fruit. My grandmother who lives overseas also bakes cookies and ships them to us...Weinachts Sterne, Vanil Kipfel, Lebkuchen, and some others. Here is a link with some good recipes.

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,715147,00.html

[Sickie Ickie]

Sounds very farfignugen. LOL :)

[mshelene]

oh I just saw that Blinky posted a Yule Log recipe on the 3rd page of this message/thread. But I like that Sickie Ickie's second link has photos since it helps me understand what a "yule log" is.

[mshelene]

thanks for the german christmas dessert recipes, firedancer41.

[ChristmasComing]

yeah it looks yummy... nice.. do you have a recipe there?

[cameron]

My Aunty always makes a Pavlova, a Australian dessert.
http://www.aussie-info.com/identity/food/pavlova.php

[Sickie Ickie]

Never heard of this before. It looks yummy. How does it taste?

[cybervision1]

Mioum Mioum

That's seem to .....mioum !

Merry Christmas !

[cameron]

Never heard of this before. It looks yummy. How does it taste?
It's sought of hard to explain. Some parts of it sought of have a chewy, crisp texture whilst other parts have a soft texture. I'm not really good at explaining tastes, etc, so I'm not really the best person to ask...


This is what Wikipedia says-
The dessert is crispy on the outside but light and fluffy inside.

[Sickie Ickie]

Something I'd like to try someday.

[navidadnm2010]

I think I will try that first cake mentioned as part of my Christmas Baking.
Although I also do a Rich but low Cal, Low Fat Spice Cake and everyone Loves it.
I call it my Luminaria Spice Cake, as the Gumdrops I put atop it look like tiny Luminarias.