Christmas Cake Recipe

Comments (2) Posted on Dec 3, 2007 by Jodie in English Cuisine

Who does not appreciate a fine cake during Christmas? To give you a taste of British food for Christmas dinner, here is a recipe from BritainExpress. I don’t know about you but it sure looks promising!

Ingredients
12oz Currants
12ozs Golden raisins
8oz Raisins
8oz Brown sugar
8oz Butter or Margarine
10oz Flour
4oz Mixed peel
Glace cherries
1/2 Lemon - grated rind
Orange - grated rind
2 oz Chopped almonds
1-1/2 tsp Mixed spice
1 tbs Black treacle (Molasses)
Pinch salt
5 Eggs
Milk if required

Cream together the butter and sugar, salt, mixed spice, treacle, add eggs one at a time. Stir in the fruit and flour in alternate batches until thoroughly mixed.

Use a metal pan about 10″ wide x 5″ or six inch high, one with a loose bottom is best. Line sides and bottom of pan with wax paper allowing the paper to extend up over the sides by an inch.

Put in round pan and bake at 325f for 1 hour and turn down to 300f and continue cooking for at least 2 hours and then check for doneness by inserting thin instrument until it comes out clean.

Store upside-down (you put the icing on the bottom and sides) and leave for about 2 weeks in an airtight tin. Poke holes a few inches down into bottom of cake and pour over sherry or brandy. Repeat this procedure two or three times over a two day period. Keep stored in airtight tin. . Roll out the marzipan and stick to sides and bottom of cake with melted apricot jam. Leave a few days to dry and ice with the royal icing.

Happy baking!

The Traditional English Christmas Dinner

Comment (0) Posted on Nov 27, 2007 by Jodie in English Cuisine, English Traditions

The spirit of Christmas is all about giving and sharing – not only gifts but time well spent with the ones that matter to you most. What better way to get together than over a sumptuous feast? Much like other people in different parts of the world celebrate Christmas Day, the English get together on the day itself for a huge meal. Christmas Dinner is usually the main event and is held in the middle of the day or in the early afternoon.

Each family has its own version of the Christmas Dinner but the traditional fare includes roast turkey, brussel sprouts, roast potatoes, and of course the renowned English pudding for dessert. Serving turkey on Christmas Day can be attributed to Henry VIII, who is said to have first eaten the bird on this day. A tradition associated with turkey for Christmas Dinner is the pulling of the wishbone by two people. The person who gets the larger part of the wishbone can then make a wish and wait for it to come true.

Today, there are countless variations to roast turkey. A huge favorite among many is to stuff it with a rich and nutty concoction. Of course, there has to be enough cranberry sauce as well as bacon strips and lots of hot gravy.

Another traditional associated with the Christmas Dinner is the placement of crackers alongside each dinner plate at the table. These crackers are meant to be a joke – you pull on them and colorful tokens come out.

Britain’s Desert called Pudding

Comments Off Posted on Oct 10, 2007 by Jodie in English Cuisine, English Traditions, General

Everyone is familiar with having desert at the end of a good meal. Deserts can take the form of ice cream, cakes and other known sweets to top of an appetizing meal. In Britain, pudding is something that is known as a common desert to consume. Pudding is usually composed of bread, or other forms of cakes, paired with various add-ons such as raisins, alcohol and vanilla. Pudding is prepared in different ways, and the variants would depend on what the server would normally want to offer to their customers.

Pudding can be paired with other deserts as well. It is in particular that ice cream is normally the first option to be paired with it. Fruits are also another good addition to the normal pudding servings. Some also make unique sauces to complement the pudding served, making it something different from the usual cakes and pastries that are offered as deserts for people after a hearty meal.

[tags]pudding, british food, british desert[/tags]

Buying Your Fish And Chips

Comments Off Posted on Jul 29, 2007 by Jodie in English Cuisine, English Traditions, General

Fish and chips can be traced under the English tradition of providing quality food snacks catered to serve people on occasions. Much of this widely famous served meal has been found in various parts of the world especially in restaurants where it has evolved into one full meal as well.

Fish and chips meals were originally conceptualized to be served in alleys and stand similar to the concept used by America’s world famous hotdog stand. Fish and chips, a meal where fish classes as cod, haddock and placie are deep fried in a flour batter and paired with chips to become what it is known today.

The usual wrapping would be that of used newspapers for people to easily hold them. This same English meal is a common site in recreation parks and events like baseball where the meal is consumed while they are watching or socializing at times to hit the spot in their bellies.

[tags]fish and chips, food, english cuisine[/tags]

Anyone for English Toffee?

Comments Off Posted on May 3, 2007 by Jodie in English Cuisine, English Culture, English Life, English Traditions

Toffee traces is roots from the English and the Americanized descent. Toffee is usually known to be that buttery and chewable like candy that people would love to sink their teeth in, especially the people with the proverbial sweet tooth. Toffee is made up of sugar or molasses along with butter and milk.

It is a widely known sweet coating that is used to cover such other ingredients and elements like apples, almonds, nuts and raisins. Put altogether, they produce the usual candy bars that consumers would purchase from candy stores and supermarkets anywhere.

Toffee has been known to be in demand in various parts of the world. One of the better issues surrounding toffee is with regards to its point of origin since American and English type of preparation differ a lot. A lot of creations have been made around this usual candy or chocolate coated bar but its identity for being chewy is something that people with strong teeth will surely enjoy.

[tags]english toffee, candy, chocolate, almonds, raisins, sweets[/tags]

An English Tradition called St. Andrew’s Day

Comments Off Posted on Mar 8, 2007 by Jodie in English Cuisine, English Culture, English Traditions, General

Each year come November 30, people would celebrate St. Andrew’s day, the recognized patron saint of Scotland. For people who know their history, many would not that Andrew is among the 12 disciples of Jesus. It is believed that he was crucified as well on an x-shaped cross which in turn has become the reason for Scotland’s symbolic national flag.

St. Andrew’s day is a feast day that is celebrated by farm workers by catching hares and rabbits in the early years. Today, this has changed and people simply celebrate through eating fish and other traditional Scottish foods known today such as porridge, haggis and pudding.

Each country has its own traditional belief on how to celebrate certain holidays as recognized locally and St. Andrew’s Day is something that is celebrated with honor in Scotland and through all of England. These dates are of significant interest in the same way that other local declared holidays based on traditional beliefs are done.

[tags]st. andrew’s day, holiday, religious, Jesus, english tradition, english facts[/tags]

Taking the Toad in a Hole for Breakfast

Comments Off Posted on Feb 23, 2007 by Jodie in English Cuisine, English Culture, English Traditions, General

The name should not be taken literally since similar to most adages, this is simply a name christened to unique conceptualized meals that the English have developed. And for the sake of clearing things out, no frogs or toads are included in it!

Seriously, it is simple egg and toast presented in a unique way. The center portion of bread is simply cut using a round object such as a cookie or a glass and then placed in a frying pan to which eggs are placed in the revealing circular portion. It is like simply frying an egg sunny side up but with borders which produces an appealing manner of presentation for dishes originating from England.

While the name termed for it may need some work, it is commonly known as Egg in the Basket as well. But knowing how to stimulate the curiosity of most people, the attention garnered by Toad in a Hole will really catch their interest since they are not too familiar with such an offered English meal.

[tags]english cuisine, english tradition, english breakfast[/tags]