In which I make Delia's Christmas Cake!

~  Menu  ~

Sautéed Smoked Haddock & New Potatoes

Black Pepper & Brandy Butter

Glass of Chardonnay

Some Ecuadorean Chocky

Coffee

I have done a strange thing, for me – cooked from a recipe.  My real man is very keen on homemade Christmas cake, especially at Christmas, and I had intended to make one on Stir Up Sunday, the last Sunday in November (not, as my lovely neighbour thought, last Monday!!)  My computer having committed suicide a couple of months ago, however, I was unable to find my normal recipe so I did what any self respecting Briton would do – turned to Delia.  See here for details.  The only alteration I made was I used Clementine zest instead of orange because that’s what I had available.  We bought 20 for 18p the other day! 

The cake took over 5 hours to cook during which time the kitchen was warm and smelt gorgeous.  The cooked cake looks a bit dark in a good way and smells delicious and the bowl scrapings were lovely.  I shall feed this cake’s bottom with brandy every few days and report back at Christmas.

Now then, the recipe called for 5 tbsp of brandy after which, in my old bottle (I have another you know), was a wincy bit of “leftover brandy”.  You will be proud of me – I didn’t swig in down!  No, what I did was made Black Pepper & Brandy Butter (you know; coarsely ground black pepper and a little sea salt worked into soft butter with a little brandy).  What a surprise!  And then, even more surprising, I sautéed some leftover Exquisa potatoes in it and then added some smoked haddock!  That was my yummy lunch – but I didn’t take a picture because it was too dark and I’m no good (yet) at photos in artificial light.

I did, however, take a photo of my lunch pudding …

… few squares of the item to the left which has that almost alcoholic taste peculiar to good dark chocolate.  I bought it in Lidl; they sell a whole gamut of plantation chocolates by J.D. Gross – see here for their site, which is in German but can be translated - and if this is the quality of their products I intend trying the lot.  They range from Noumea chocolate from Papua New Guinea at 35% cocoa to an 80% cocoa bar from Tembadoro, Trinidad.   Get yourselves to Lidl's, or Germany!