Old Irish “Big House” Christmas Cake Recipe

Císte Nollag

19th Century Old Irish Recipe

A chara,

Here is the old Irish “Big House” Christmas cake recipe or Císte Nollag that you were asking for, along with a winter home blessing that you can enjoy on the same day. Now you may have not expected so many luxury ingredients, but Ireland has been trading with Europe for centuries. I hope you like the postcard of the 13th century, magnificent Ashford Castle above which began life as a medieval fortress and now is a grand retreat. Hopefully you can visit some day soon. Also if you are on the monthly €5 newsletter you will get the old Irish home blessing today too. I am planning to do mine this Sunday as I like to prep the Christmas cake and carry out the blessing on the same day.

This recipe dates from the 1860s and makes a beautiful, very rich fruit cake, 25 centimeters or 10 inches round. It needs to be made at least one month before needed to let it mature well. It can also be made for weddings and christenings. In fact, my mother made a similar one for her own winter wedding and had her sisters mother in-law finish the icing for her.

Irish mothers usually begin making their Christmas cake in the first or second week of November. My mother-in-law made hers yesterday with her grandson helping out and a friend of mine who was spent many years teaching women to cook made hers last week. I am making mine this Sunday evening.

10-inch cakes can serve to up to 25 people with each slice measuring about 1 and 1/4 inches across the back or about the width of a teaspoon. Cut and served event style, a 10-inch cake can serve as many as 39 people. When you consider that you will be serving it throughout Christmas week to your family and visitors, having a large home baked Christmas cake does make good sense. As this cake is made over a few weeks, its best to get out your diary and plan backwards from the day you plan to cut the first slice.

Christmas cake - Císte Nollag

Step 1: Preparing the Fruit

Ingredients:

• 450g or 1 lb. of sultanas

• 450g or 1 lb. of raisins

• 225g or 8oz currants

• 100g or 4oz glazed cherries

• 175g or 6oz of mixed chopped candied peel

• 100g or 4oz dried apricots, soaked

• 100g or 4oz walnuts or split blanched almonds

The evening before take the butter and eggs from the fridge to a cool room temperature. Then line a 25cm or 10-inch cake tin on its sides and bottom, using first a double layer of brown paper and then second, grease proof paper, oiled with margarine. Prepare the fruit and nuts into the correct amounts. Soak the dried apricots in a bowl by pouring over boiling water so that they are covered and leave to soak for 5 minutes (or longer if the apricots are very dry), then drain off the water. Chop the whole peel.

In the morning, mix all the ingredients together and place in the baking tin. Cover with tinfoil and heat in the lowest possible oven until the fruit swells up. Mixing with a wooden spoon and when they are a bit sticky, take out from the oven, separate the ingredients again and leave overnight to get cold.

Step 2: Making the Cake

Ingredients:

• 175g or 6oz of soft brown sugar

• 175g or 6oz fine sugar

• 350g or 12oz of butter

• 6 large eggs

• 450g or 1 lb. of plain flour, sifted

• 100g or 4oz of ground almonds

• 1 rounded teaspoon mixed spice

• 1 level teaspoon grated nutmeg

• 1/2 a teaspoon of salt

• Finely grated rind and juice of 1 lemon

• Finely grated rind and juice of 1 orange

• 4 tablespoons of brandy, whiskey or rum as per your family preference

Cream the sugars and butter until light. Add the eggs separately with the little flour, beating well between each. Fold in gently but thoroughly the remaining sifted flour, spices, ground almonds, fruit juices, rinds and salt and do not beat the ingredients because it will make the cake hard. Add the prepared fruit and nuts gradually, and finally add the spirits. Mixing well. You can at this point cover the ingredients and leave in a cool place overnight. The next morning you will begin to make the cake.

Step 3: Baking the Cake:

Preheat the oven to 160°C 350°F, gas mark 2/3. Put the mixture into a prepared baking tin and smooth the top with a wet wooden spoon, then loosely cover with grease proof paper or foil. Place it on the middle oven rack. After half an hour reduce the heat to 140°C, 275°F, gas mark 1 and cook for two hours, then remove the paper cover. Continue cooking for about 3 hours more, lowering the temperature slightly if it is browning too much. Test before taking from the oven with a skewer to make sure it is baked through. When done, take out of the oven but leave in the baking tin and pour over 2 tablespoons more of your chosen alcohol spirits. Leave the cake to get quite cold, then turn out of the tin careful and wrap in a double layer of grease proof paper before storing in an airtight tin for two weeks.

Step 4: Infusing Alcohol

After two weeks gently pour over two more tablespoons of your chosen spirits. Again, wrap in a double layer of grease proof paper before returning to an airtight tin for another two weeks.

Step 5: Adding Almond Paste

Finally, right before Christmas week, it will be ready for icing with almond paste and then on Christmas week, royal icing.

Ingredients:

• 800g or 28oz ground almonds

• 400g or 14oz icing sugar

• 200g or 14oz fine sugar

• 1 teaspoon almond essence

• Juice of 1 lemon

• 1 duck egg or three egg yolks

• A little apricot jam, warmed

Mix the ground almonds and both sugars well and make a well in the center. Beat the egg or eggs, add the lemon juice and almond essence and pour the mixture into the well. Mix all together with your fingers gently instead of kneading as otherwise it will make the almonds oily. The almond paste should be pliable but not sticky. Add more lemon juice or icing sugar if necessary.

Dust a board with icing sugar and roll out the paste to the size of the cake top. If the top of the cake is not straight, cut it to make the surface level and then turn the cake over so that the flat bottom becomes the top. Brush the warm apricot jam over the cake, first pressing it through a sieve onto the top of the cake. Gently reverse the cake again to lay the apricot side down on the round of almond paste. Press down lightly and trim around the edges. Put the cake board or plate over it and turn it back upside down. Cover lightly with tissue paper and leave to harden for a week. This will allow it to dry thoroughly. It will then be ready for royal icing.

Step 6: Adding Royal Icing

Ingredients;

·       900 grams or 2 lbs. of icing sugar

·       1 teaspoon of lemon juice

·       4 egg whites

·       2 teaspoons glycerine (to prevent drying out, optional but recommended)

The cake should be on the plate or cake board that it will be served on. Sift the icing sugar twice. Put the egg whites in a bowl and stir lightly with a fork do not beat. Add most of the sifted sugar a little at a time beating well between each addition. Add the lemon juice, glycerin, remaining sugar, beating very well to get rid of any tiny air bubbles and until the icing becomes really smooth. Cover with a dampened cloth until ready to apply. The icing should then be smoothed over the entire cake top and sides with an icing knife and left to dry naturally.

If you prefer a thick double icing, the first coat should be left to dry for 24 hours and then you can apply the second coat.

Step 7: Storing Until Serving

When finished the whole cake should be covered loosely with tissue paper only. Do not put it into a tin or it will sweat and spoil. Serve two to three days later.

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I hope you enjoy this recipe, its certainly one to keep as I said for weddings, christenings and communions too. Do let me know what other recipes you might like next, as I am writing up a list to send to you.

Beir bua agus beannacht,

Róisín Hynes

Sliocht sleachta ar shliocht bhur sleachta.